''Die Gezeichneten'' (literally ''The Stigmatised'', aka ''Love one another'') is a 1922 German silent film directed by

Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer (; 3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his movies are noted for their emotional aus ...

, based on the 1918 novel ''Elsker hverandre'' ''(Love one another)'' by Aage Madelung.

Plot

In the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century, Hanne Liebe is a little Jewish girl who lives in a small town on the Dnieper where she is submitted to racial prejudice notably at the Christian-Russian school that she attends. Hanne-Liebe grows up and in her last year at school, she falls in love with a Russian boy, Sasha. Fedya, the son of her neighbour, the rich and anti-semitic merchant Suchowerski, with whom she played when she was a child, spreads a rumour that they are having an affair. As a result, she is expelled from school. Her mother asks a matchmaker to find a suitable husband for her, in order to get her married as soon as possible. Revolted by the man presented to her, Hanne-Liebe flees to Saint Petersburg, to live with her brother Yakov. Yakov, who was cursed by his father when he became a Christian Orthodox, is now a successful lawyer. He is very happy to see his sister again but his wife refuses that she lives with them. Jakov arranges for her to live with some childless friends, the Florovs, where she is very happy. Sasha is also living in St. Petersburg and he has joined one of the revolutionary circles which are flourishing in a context of social unrest. At a literary and political evening organised by the Florovs, Hanne Liebe meets Sasha again, who introduces her to his friend Rylowitsch, another revolutionary. Yakov recognises him as a secret police agent and asks Sasha to come to his office the following day to warn him but Sasha is arrested the same evening. Hanne Liebe, worried that Sasha had not come to his appointment goes looking for him and is arrested in her turn. Thanks to Yakov she is released, but only under the condition that she goes back to her hometown. As the social unrest is increasing, the head of the secret police decides to foment some pogroms to re-direct the people discontent towards the Jews. Rylowitsch dressed as a monk travels through the country, stirring up anti-Jewish feelings with false rumours. In 1905, a general strike is decided and the revolution spreads through the country. The Tsar must make some concessions and adopts the October manifesto granting new civil rights and the release of political prisoners. Yakov, having learned that his mother is dying travels back to his home town, where Suchowerski and Rylowitsch are busy fomenting hostility against the Jewish population. After a procession in honor of the Tsar the people led by Suchowerski and Rylowitsch storm the Jewish ghetto, killing people, plundering their property, and setting the synagogue ablaze. Yakov is shot dead by Rylowitsch and Hanne-Liebe is chased by Fedya. Meanwhile, Sasha, who had been released from jail, convinces the revolutionary leaders to let him use a locomotive to go back to his hometown where he feels that Hanne Liebe is in danger. He arrives just in time to rescue her from Fedya whom he shoots dead. Hanne-Liebe and Sasha join the crowd of Jews fleeing Russia.

Cast

* Polina Piekowskaja as Hanne-Liebe * Wladimir Gaidarow as Jakow Segal *

Thorleif Reiss Thorleif Dymling Reiss (May 22, 1898 – April 14, 1988) was a Norwegian actor. Career Reiss made his debut at the National Theater in Oslo in 1918. From 1931 to 1939, he was employed at the Carl Johan Theater, where he also served as co-dire ...

as Alexander Krasnow (Sasha) * Adele Reuter-Eichberg as Hanne-Liebe's mother * Johannes Meyer as Rylowitsch *

Richard Boleslawski Richard Boleslawski (born Bolesław Ryszard Srzednicki; February 4, 1889 – January 17, 1937) was a Polish theatre and film director, actor and teacher of acting. Biography Richard Boleslawski was born Bolesław Ryszard Srzednicki on February ...

as Gawrik Suchowerski (Fedja) * J.N. Douvan Tarzow as Suchowerski * Sylvia Torf as Zipe, Hanne-Liebe's sister *

Hugo Döblin Hugo Döblin (29 October 1876 – 4 November 1960) was a German stage and film actor.Hardt p.233 He appeared in more than eighty films, most of them during the silent era. The Jewish Döblin left Germany following the Nazi Party's rise to power in ...

: Abraham, Zipe's husband *

Elisabeth Pinajeff Elisabeth Pinajeff (born Elizabeta Sergeyevna Pinayeva; russian: Елизавета Сергеевна Пинаева, 17 April 1900 – 31 December 1995) was a Russian-German actress.Prawer p.87 Selected filmography * ''Count Cohn'' (1923) * '' ...

: Manja *

Emmy Wyda Emmy Wyda (2 March 1876 – 22 January 1942) was a German actress. She appeared in more than eighty films from 1913 to 1941. Selected filmography References External links * 1876 births 1942 deaths German film actresses German si ...

: Anna Arkadjewna, School mistress * Tatjana Tarydina: Natalia Petrowna, teacher *

Friedrich Kühne Friedrich Kühne (24 April 1870 – 13 October 1959), born Franz Michna, was a German film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1913 and 1957. Selected filmography * ''The Iron Cross'' (1914) * ''Detektiv Br ...

: Head of the Police

Production

This is the first film directed by Dreyer in Germany. It was shot near

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, in , where a city consisting of 25 different buildings was built, with a synagogue and an orthodox church and separate Russian and Jewish quarters. In order to guarantee the authenticity of the film, Dreyer together with the set designer Jens Lind had travelled to

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, where he had visited the Jewish quarter. In addition, several of the actors were coming from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

theaters and for the crowd scenes, actual Jewish refugees from Russia were employed, some of them having personally experienced some fifteen years before events similar to the pogrom described in the film.

Preservation and restoration

The original German version is considered lost but a version with Russian

intertitles In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...

has been found at the ''Cinémathèque de Toulouse'' and, on that basis, a digitally restored version was created by the

Danish Film Institute The Danish Film Institute ( da, Det Danske Filminstitut) is the national Danish agency responsible for supporting and encouraging film and cinema culture, and for conserving these in the national interest. Also known as ''Filmhuset'' ("the film h ...

in 2006. New intertitles were created on the basis of the original script by Dreyer completed by a Swedish censorship list.