Frau Holle
Tags: fantasy

Plot synopsis:
A rich widow lives with her daughter and her stepdaughter. The widow favored her biological daughter allowing her to become spoiled and idle while her stepdaughter was left to do all the work. Every day the stepdaughter would sit outside the cottage and spin beside the well.
One day she pricked her finger on the point of the spindle. Leaning over the well to wash the blood away, the spindle fell from her hand and sank out of sight. The stepdaughter feared that she would be punished for losing the spindle, and in a panic she leapt into the well after it.
The girl found herself in a meadow where she came upon an oven full of bread. The bread asked to be taken out before it burned. With a baker's peel she took all the loaves out and then walked on. Then she came to an apple tree that asked that its apples be harvested. So she did so and gathered them into a pile, before continuing on her way. Finally she came to a small house of an old woman, who offered to allow the girl to stay if she would help with the housework.
The woman identified herself as Frau Holle, and cautioned the girl to shake the featherbed pillows and coverlet well when she made the bed, as that would make it snow in the girl's world. The girl agreed to take service with Frau Holle, and took care to always shake the featherbed until the feathers flew about like snowflakes.
After a time, the girl became homesick and told Frau Holle that it was time for her to return home. Frau Holle had been impressed by the girl's kindness and hard work so much that when she escorted the girl to the gate, a shower of gold fell upon the girl. She also gave her the spindle which had fallen into the well. With that the gate was closed, and the girl found herself back, not far from her mother's house.
Her mother wished the same good fortune for her own daughter. She also set her to sit by the well and spin, but the girl deliberately threw the spindle into the well before jumping in herself. She too came to the oven, but would not assist the bread; nor would she help the apple tree. When she came to Frau Holle's house, she likewise took service there, but before long fell into her lazy, careless ways. Frau Holle soon dismissed her. As the lazy girl stood at the gate, a kettle of pitch spilled over her. "That is what you have earned," said Frau Holle, and closed the gate.
Other versions describe the first girl having a piece of gold fall from her lips every time she speaks whilst the second has a toad fall from her lips everytime she speaks.
* That is why, in Hessen whenever it snows they say that Frau Holle is making her bed.

Review: The eternal tale of Pechmarie and Goldmarie. "Frau Holle" is a German fairy tale from the famous Brothers Grimm and here we have one of the more known film adaptations of this one. It is from 1963, so already 53 years old and it is a DEFA film, which means it is from the German Democratic Republic. Like many other of the country's fairy tale adaptations, this is relatively short, stays slightly under the 60 minute mark. The director is successful GDR filmmaker (also for more serious films) Gottfried Kolditz and he worked also on the script together with Günter Kaltofen, the GDR's most successful fairy tale film writer probably. The cast is predominantly female and includes also actresses that appeared in other GDR fairy tale films, such as Karin Ugowski, who is in her 70s today and still acting occasionally. About the story, I guess there is not too much to say. People who consider seeing this have certainly heard of the tale of Frau Holle with the hard-working girl and the lazy girl and the challenges they are posed by Frau Holle and of course the reward they are eventually getting. Even if you could see a political, communistic message in here that only the hard-working will be rewarded in the end, it is still a fairly unpolitical movie I guess and it is refreshing to see this from the GDR, a country that certainly does not have so many good films sadly and a big part of the country's résumé is also somewhat propaganda stuff that is not worth seeing. But the GDR's fairy tale films are pretty much top-notch and this was an entertaining watch as well. The story is close enough to the original, the acting is okay and it's definitely on the charming side and they did good in keeping it short and essential and keeping it from becoming bloated. If there is anything to criticize here, then this would maybe be the visual side. Frau Holle offers possibilities that many other fairy tale films do not offer in terms of making it a visually impressive watch (the cloud world, the pouring of gold etc.), but these have definitely not been fulfilled. It is underwhelming to that regard. But all in all, the good outweighs the bad and I recommend checking it out. Thumbs up.