THE LAST VALLEY
UK, 1970, 122 minutes, Colour.
Michael Caine, Omar Sharif, Florinda Bolkan, Nigel Davenport, Per Oscarsson, Arthur O'Connell, Christian Roberts.
Directed by James Clavell.
The Last Valley shows a remote village during the final decade of the Thirty Years’ War. At the beginning of the credits, the two arms of a cross separate and become fighting soldiers. A note tells us that in the name of convenient religion, princes warred against each other for power and butchered Europe. The first minutes of the film, shot in fog and darkness, show us massacre, flight, hunger, fear and horribly, the massed dead from plague. Then the wandering teacher, Vogel (Omar Sharif) comes Into the sunlight and the peaceful valley.
As a visual presentation of these troubled times, the film is excellent, combining natural Alpine beauty (filmed in the Tyrol) with sets, costumes, lighting and tableaux reminiscent of the art of the times. Given this strong feeling of the 17th century, we accept the modern style dialogue.
Most of the issues of religion, superstition, territorial greed, mercenary victimising of peasants and cities, witchcraft are shown (some might say overloaded) in the film.
Michael Caine has seldom been better, using an Oskar Werner-type inflection and intonation, as the strong and practical leader, Captain. Omar Sharif is better than usual as the intellectual, yet devious, Vogel. The supporting cast is good, although Per Oscarssen's priest-fanatic is too reminiscent of what we expect of Rasputin.
James Clavell (To Sir With Love), a novelist as well as cinema man, is completely responsible for this film and has made a success of it. It is much more than an adventure story. It Is an attack on the worst aspects of worldly and ideological religion which turns people against each other. A fine film.
1. How did the background music and art work during the credits set the tone of the film (especially the two arms of the cross which became fighting soldiers)?
2. Comment on the effect of the opening sequences up to Vogel's discovery of the valley - what image of the Thirty Years' War did it give - darkness, fear, hunger, wandering, murdered peasantry, butchering mercenaries, flight, plague, fog, harsh mountains. How effective was this?
3. What was your first impression of the valley - sunlit, green, Alpine beauty, ordered harvests, etc?
4. Why did Captain's soldiers fight with him? What religion did they belong to? Why were they so indifferent at times to what religion each belonged to? Were any of them religious fanatics? How was this portrayed?
5. What kind of man was Captain - what were his attractive qualities, what repelled you? What kind of a leader was he?
6. What kind of a man was Vogel? What did you think of his initial advice to Captain? Was he callous and bloodthirsty, or just a theorist, even a hypocrite, as Captain suggested?
7. Do you think the valley was typical of the times, or was it packed with too much detail - peasants, work, Gruber's leadership, the authority of the priest, the priest having wife and children, superstition, the shrine, selling of indulgences in anticipation of sin, fanaticism, a witch, the burning of the witch, etc, ? What impression of the times did this give you? Was it the same all over Germany? Was it the same in the cities? (Note Vogel’s family killed at Magdeburg and his sister burnt as a witch.)
8. What was the dramatic impact of the moving of the shrine?
9. What was the point of the incidents of Hansen's escape and attack?
10. Why did Captain go back to the war? What impression did the siege scenes make on you?
11. Erika - did she believe in witchcraft? Why was she tortured and burnt? Was the priest too fanatical (looking like Rasputin)?
12. Comment on the themes of - true religion
- intolerance
- survival.
13. How prevalent was this kind of religious "warring" in other countries of Europe at this time? The date is 1641; Cromwell was set in the 1640s and 50s,
