MovieChat Forums > Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache (1924) Discussion > questions: (spoilers)

questions: (spoilers)

posted 9 years ago by adamwarlock
3 replies | jump to latest

1. Why does Hagen say "The child will die soon?" He may have been uneasy in Kriemhild's presence & suspect a trap but was he saying he'd kill the kid if threatened?

2. Why kill the kid? Just to show he doesn't like being trapped? If he's going to stoop that low, why not kill Attila & Kriemhild while right in front of him? Would have saved all that fighting or at least no leadership for the Huns & a chance at escape.

3. Who kills Kriemhild at the end? Was he one of Rudiger's men? Those 2 German guys that stayed out of the fight, didn't get who they were or why they were there. And why didn't Attila kill him for killing his wife? Tried of the whole thing?

4. Who are we supposed to root for (if anyone)? Kriemhild wanting revenge is justified although she goes way over the top to get it, killing so many innocent people. The Nibelungen show great loyalty by not giving up Hagen but this leads to their deaths. Rudiger & Attila don't break their oaths although it costs them plenty. The huns come across like animalistic savages so I assume we should sympathize with the surrounded Germans. Is it just an all round tragedy with no good guys & bad guys? I've not seen Wagner's operas or read the texts so I'm not sure why this is important to the German people. Seems very fatalistic & I can see why Nazis would like it.

5. Why do Gunther & his people get referred to as the Nibelungen? Wasn't that the treasure of Seigfried's name? Because they "inherited" it, they get the name?

Expansion to your ego.

[–] SteveH2002 9 years ago

Who are we supposed to root for (if anyone)?

Good question. A friend and I watched this on YouTube a couple days ago and we asked the same thing. We'd watched Lang's Siegfried earlier and that made the root-for-who question even more complicated. Siegfried is a hero, but he dupes Brunhilde during a contest of strength and then again on her wedding night. He's supposed to be a hero but he doesn't act very heroic - and his death isn't very heroic, either. Not in battle as you'd expect, but in the shoulder with a spear thrust from Hagen. Siegfried dies like an animal.

You can root for Kreimhild's quest for vengeance, but it is pretty monomanical, and Sig hardly deserves such devotion and dedication. Hagen might be the hero, since he does protect his liege (Gunther) and gets a hero's death.

In other words, I don't know the answer to your question, but it's the same one I've tried to work out for myself.

[–] adamwarlock 8 years ago

I think the stories of Siegfried are far too many to include in these films. He conquered Brunhilde so he could win his love which is sort of romantic. The idea at the time of writing (& even in the 20s) probably was that Brunhilde needs to be tamed as she was a woman living without a man, in defiance of men. Bringing her down was necessary but Gunther was not up to the task. Siegfried's death was a betrayal but necessary to keep Gunther's honor as king. Sounds dumb today but this is medieval thinking. Service to one's lord is all.

if man is 5
then the devil is 6
if the devil is 6
then God is 7
and if God is 7...

[–] SteveH2002 9 years ago

why didn't Attila kill him for killing his wife?

Another one I've been discussing with my friend. We both decided Attila was the most admirable character in either movie, although I doubt that was Lang's intent. I think Lang doesn't have Attila kill the wife-killer because Attila is supposed to be non-heroic. Remember earlier in the scene he isn't able to kill the (presumed) killer of his child, Hagen, either. I think this inability to take action of revenge is supposed to reflect a weakness of character. I think the Huns are supposed to be little better than apes, and are unable to act against someone as noble as Hagen.