The Blue Light

Gorgeous alpine photography and some absorbing storytelling make this quite memorable. Beyond that, while it is certainly not a fascist film, it is mainly notable as a chance to experience Riefenstahl's truly epic self absorption firsthand. She plays the girl that everyone hates and desires and envies because of her specialness. None of the other characters have any attributes except how they feel about her.

Gustav Renkers sehr empfehlenswertes Buch "Bergkristall" kann hier wirklich nur als Inspirationsquelle genutzt worden sein und nicht als direkte Vorlage, denn die Handlung unterscheidet sich deutlich genug, auch wenn das Grundgerüst das gleiche bleibt: Ein malender Fremdling taucht in die alpine Bergwelt ein, wo es ein hübsches Mädchen und eine mysteriöse Kristallhöhle gibt.

Beautifully shot, but impossible not to read her future career into the story of purity, corruption and martyrdom.

Leni Riefenstahl's directorial debut and it follows the genre she was most known for at the time. Mountain movies. And it's no secret that the biggest quality here is the photography. Beautiful landscapes. Amazing atmosphere shots. The story in itself moved a little too slow for my taste as they established Riefenstahl as an weirdo outsider of a mountain village who can climb the steep bergs where others die trying and gets betrayed in a big way. The slow road there however does end rewardingly.

Beautiful movie; worth seeking out.

Worth it for the amazing cinematography and Riefenstahl's performance, even if there's not much else.