Roses Bloom on the Moorland

A gothic synthesis of the heimatfilm and the horror movie ripe for rediscovery, Roses Bloom on the Moorland follows the plight of a young village girl pressured by her family into spurning her childhood love and marrying a wealthy farmer. But our heroine’s plight comes to bear an eerie resemblance to a local legend concerning a brutish Swedish soldier’s misdeeds during the Thirty Years’ War… Featuring gloomy, atmospheric set design by the great German art director Max Mellin, this tale, pervaded by a sense of doom yet speckled with moments of unexpected grace, is an evocative condensation of the young FRG’s neuroses and everyday worries. 35mm print courtesy of the Goethe-Institut.