'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
5.1 “Here is the Finger with the Ring”: The Importance <strong>of</strong> Physical Evidence<br />
The motif <strong>of</strong> providing physical evidence <strong>of</strong> the truth <strong>of</strong> one‟s story is a theme<br />
that is found in the tale <strong>of</strong> “Der Räuberbräutigam.” This motif <strong>of</strong> supplying tangible pro<strong>of</strong><br />
can be applied not only to Sanders-Brahms‟ use <strong>of</strong> documentary footage and to her<br />
evocation <strong>of</strong> the Holocaust through the fairy tale segment, but also to the creation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
film itself. At the end <strong>of</strong> the tale, the miller‟s daughter is able to see that her murderous<br />
bridegroom and his band are brought to justice for their crimes against women by telling<br />
publicly the story <strong>of</strong> what she has witnessed. The miller‟s daughter shrewdly disguises<br />
her story as a dream until the last moment, when she produces tangible evidence – the<br />
severed finger <strong>of</strong> the young woman whose murder she witnessed, stating: “Hier ist der<br />
Finger mit dem Ring” (Sanders-Brahms, Film-Erzählung 96). 95<br />
The theme <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fering concrete evidence can be applied to Sanders-Brahms‟ use<br />
<strong>of</strong> documentary footage in the film. Sanders-Brahms confronts the fictionalized account<br />
<strong>of</strong> her mother‟s personal gendered experiences <strong>of</strong> the war with the documentary record <strong>of</strong><br />
the era, by showing authentic footage that illustrates the results <strong>of</strong> the war started by the<br />
Nazis: aerial bombings, parentless children, bombed out cities, burning airplanes, and<br />
dead soldiers. These images are the „tangible pro<strong>of</strong>‟ that the realities <strong>of</strong> war that shaped<br />
Lene‟s personal story were real, not merely imagined. Just as the miller‟s daughter can<br />
prove false her claim, “Mein Schatz, das träumte mir nur” (Sanders-Brahms, Film-<br />
Erzählung 96) 96 by producing the irrefutable pro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> the severed finger and golden ring<br />
<strong>of</strong> the murdered bride, so too, Sanders-Brahms provides tangible pro<strong>of</strong> in the form <strong>of</strong><br />
95 “Here is the finger with the ring” (Sanders-Brahms, Film-Erzählung 96).<br />
96 “It was just a dream, my love” (Sanders-Brahms, Film-Erzählung 96).<br />
129