THE PEDESTRIAN
Switzerland, 1973, 98 minutes, Colour.
Peggy Ashcroft, Elisabeth Bergner, Lil Dagover, Francoise Rosay, Maximilian Schell.
Directed by Maximilian Schell.
The Pedestrian was nominated for Oscar for best foreign language film – and won this award in the Golden Globes.
The film focuses on a war criminal, old, regretting what he had done, facing up to the realities. The film traces his moral dilemma as well as looking back over the war experience. The film was directed by Maximilian Schell who had won an Oscar for his performance in Judgment at Nuremberg. He had directed a number of other films including First Love and The Castle, a version of Kafka’s novel. It is interesting to note that at this period Maximilian Schell also appeared in The Man in the Glass Booth as Adolf Eichmann on trial for his war crimes.
1. The meaning of the title, reference to Glese? The title as explained in the film? The symbolic value and indication of themes?
2. The impact and meaning of the dream, relationship to death, to Glese's story?
3. The impact of the museum openings the bones, the past? The humanity and inhumanity? Modern science and progress? The human conflicts behind this? Its relationship to the ending?
4. What was the point of making this film, to stir German memories, to criticise the stirring of German memories? The blending of both these aspects? Which predominated in the impact of the film?
5. The importance of German guilt as a theme of the film? The points made during the panel discussion, the encounter of the varying generations in modern Germany, memories of past guilt and the necessity of forgiveness, reparation, purging? Some people thinking the Germans should retain their guilt memories? What was the nature of the guilt, the responsibility?
6. The focus on the incident in Greece? As visually presented, the meaning of the incident in itself, the impact on the Germans, the spur of the moment, the need for decisions? The possibility of mistakes and injustice? (The parallel with the Vietnam decisions and brutality and massacres?)
7. The focus of the film on Glese, what kind of man was he, his strengths, his place in his family, his capacities for work, his role in the modern German economy? How well was this communicated? His relationship with the girl? An average man? The effect of war on him personally, the effect of war on him financially? What was he to do in the dilemma? Mistakes as irrevocable? Even with forgiveness? How well was the audience involved with Glese and his predicament?
8. How well developed was the character of Hartman? As a journalist, the younger generation? What right did he have to probe Glese? How callous was he? His official responsibility, his personal animus? Libel, cavalier? What might he have done in a similar situation?
9. How did the film focus on Andreas? Glese's memory of him? The contrast of his son? His wife, Andreas' wife, the girl? Andreas in himself and his relationship to his father? The significance of his death and its meaning? The next generation rebelling against those in the war?
10. What was the significance of the actor? His memories of the past, relationship to Glese, Glese's treatment of him?
ll. The significance of the elderly ladies and their discussion? The personalities of each, what they represented, the nature of their discussion in the seventies, their memories of the past? This device as a chorus for the themes of the film?
12. The boy as a focus for the film? In himself, his heritage of the two previous generations, his future?
13. The significance of the lawyer and his points of view? Relationship with Glese? The ambiguity of the ending? The move from realism to fantasy? The options given to Glese? The suicide option? The debate and remaining alive? How well presented was the debate? Were all sides adequately presented? The value of the solution? What was the audience left with?
14. How well explored were the themes of justice, rights, mistakes, law, suffering, reparation, war, truth? What particular points of view emerged from these explorations?
