Today, probably the darkest German fantasy film of the year starts in cinemas and that is a reason to be happy. With the film adaptation of an 800-year-old legend, Hagen – In the Valley of the Nibelungen provides genre fans with great pictures that show what the otherwise rather fantasy-shy film country Germany can do.
Hagen celebrates its theatrical release as an impressive fantasy film with a new perspective
Of the Nibelungen saga Or rather, almost every German has heard the Nibelungenlied. After all, the story of the dragon slayer Siegfried is almost part of the local DNA – at least when it comes to myths and legends that go back a long way. Approx 1250 the story was written down for the first time. Even if you’re not an opera fan and don’t know Richard Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelungs, you may have had contact with such different film adaptations as Fritz Lang’s Nibelungen adaptation or Tom Gerhardt as Siegfried.
So what could be more German and ambitious than this? Sage as a great fantasy epic to remake a film? Probably only the wish of the director duo Cyrill Boss and Philipp Stennert (News from the Wixxer), the Nibelungenlied different to film. Because that’s exactly what happens in their new film, which makes not Siegfried, but his opponent Hagen von Tronje, the main character – and an unrecognized hero. Based on the book of the same name * by the famous German fantasy author Wolfgang Hohlbein.
The Change of perspective to Hagenwhich of course requires some basic knowledge of the Nibelungen saga, the film cleverly solves it with its opening: a puppeteer recreates the story of how the villain Hagen kills the hero Siegfried from behind. But then the fantasy story alongside Hagen (Gijs Naber) questions what really happened.
Hagen doesn’t need a lot of effects to evoke the feeling of great fantasy
The Burgundian Empire in the 5th century: The king reigning in Worms falls to the horror of his faithful Armsmaster Hagen falls victim to an ambush, whereupon his successor Gunter (Dominic Marcus Singer) takes the throne. However, with the threat of the advancing Huns in the east, Burgundy needs allies, which is why Gunter wants to strategically marry his sister Kriemhild (Lilja van der Zwaag). Hagen, who is in love with the king’s daughter, tries to accept this. Only with the appearance of… Dragon Slayer Siegfried (Jannis Niewöhner), who promises Gunter an alliance with the Valkyrie Queen Brunhild (Rosalinde Mynster), the (Linden) tide turns.
A blurry dragon corpse here, a transforming face there: Even though Hagen is a fantasy film, the eye-catching computer effects are limited. But that doesn’t detract from the feeling of greatness. Quite the opposite: Because the film instead relies on elegant costumes and real locations, it depicts them Legend with a realistic approach. Instead of relying on an excess of CGI, Hagen prefers to rely on impressive image compositions. For example, in a parallel montage of writhing bodies that combines a battle with a feast.
When the first fight in Hagen breaks out in the snow of a foggy meadow camp after just a few minutes, the film has a convincing look. The ancient Czech filming locations and later the majestic landscapes Iceland do the rest to pour the scope of the story into impressive images. You can see that the film was shot in real walls instead of built sets – and that gives the fantasy setting a believable weight of meaning.
Hagen vs. Siegfried: The change of perspective works
Occasionally, one or two action scenes between the many serious conversations and intrigues would have been useful to loosen up the somewhat dialogue-heavy, dragging middle part. The highlights are sometimes somewhat unevenly distributed over the 2 hours and 15 minutes running time. But the cast easily irons out minor weaknesses, for example when Gijs Nabers Hagen presents us with his shy strength pulls over to his side. His tragic romance with Kriemhild is as captivating as his fatal loyalty towards the incompetent King Gunter.
As Siegfried, Jannis Niewöhner is allowed to take off his shirt (as usual) at least three times in the film. Luckily, he also impresses beyond his naked torso wonderfully arrogant fighterwho longs for recognition despite (too) great self-confidence. The people may cheer him on, but the “hero” doesn’t care about his subjects. Fortunately, after Siegfried’s first asshole appearance, further nuances creep in, because his real weakness is not real malice, but rather the fact that the restless lone fighter all too often ignores common strategies.
Brunhild actress Rosalinde Mynster is convincing as a Nordic creature who brings female strength into a fight. The fact that the magical black alb Alberich (Johanna Kolberg) now appears as a genderless and ageless creature instead of a dwarf also works. But aside from the supernatural, Hagen confesses Above all, his heroes deserve their humanitywhich could easily get lost in epic garb.
Hagen is becoming the perfect replenishment for Vikings fans
Hagen is taking a similar approach to the popular historical series Vikings, which also fused myths and history to illuminate a few “barbarians” from a new perspective with maximum realism and a skillfully placed drop of fantasy. When Hagen closes the circle at the end of the puppet theater opening, it becomes clear: Who are heroes and villains?often depends on the puppet masters of the story.
Hagen achieves the feat in the cinema, one A story set many centuries ago is given a modern touch admit. Because the ambivalent characters seem anything but outdated and their fluctuations between egoism and the common good fit into today. It would not be surprising if, after this film event, a new generation would turn to the old legend: to compare the details of the legend with the changed cinematic adventure. In this way, the film adaptation carries its story into the future – which will not be limited to just one film.
After the theatrical release, Hagen will also be available in a longer version as a series Hagen – In the Nibelung Valley on RTL+ in 2025. This is a modern twist that fits the size of the project and the current streaming age. Luckily, the pace of the film version rarely shows that it has been tightened up. Instead, the knowledge of a second, longer evaluation makes you want to take a look at the more detailed implementation of the saga. Before that, it’s definitely worth going to the cinema. After all, when else will we get something like this? visually stunning fantasy from Germany?
Hagen – In the Valley of the Nibelungen can be seen in cinemas from today, October 17, 2024.
*. If you purchase through this link, we will receive a commission.