The ingenuity of Kreuzpaintner in Krabat (Question 1) The movie Krabat, directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner, addresses the adventure of a young orphan named Krabat who learns black magic from an evil sorcerer in a satanic mill. Krabat goes through several struggles that help him develop into this heroic character and ends up fighting for his freedom through love and friendship. The movie was released on September 7th, 2008. The main actors in the movie were David Kross as Krabat, Daniel Bruhl as Tonda, and Christian Redl as the evil master.
The movie was directed more towards grownups who read the novel when they were young and grew up obsessed about it. Other than that the changes made in the movie were not that significant from the novel; the cinematography, the actors, and the set design and customs resulted in a very thorough film with a touch of German precision. The cinematography was phenomenal, including the way the camera was shooting and especially the clever usage of special computer effects. The images helped engage the audience more into the movie by viewing the set from different angles.
The producers showed the viewer only what he/she needed to see, cutting out all the extra details that would either confuse the viewer or complicate the situation. Another cinematography element in the movie that was also well done was the viewing of the black magic, especially the transformation of the journeymen into ravens. Most producers who try to add any supernatural effect like that into a movie end up ruining the whole scene with these computer effects resulting in a disaster, but fortunately that did not happen in Krabat.
Kreuzpaintner dealt with these special effects by letting the camera shoot from a distance so that all the zoomed-in details and special computer effects would not affect the scene, therefore not ruining the scene for the viewer. The smart use of the camera work and efficient use of special effects are usually the main challenges that producers of fantasy movies like Krabat fail to overcome, yet Kreuzpaintner managed to pull it off. Of course each one of the actor had his own character, but Krabat, Tonda, and the Sorcerer were the major ones. The actors were perfectly chosen and well placed.
David Kross made the ideal Krabat character that was needed for this film. His performance was heartfelt and committed. Although he looked weak and a little desperate, you could still sense hope in his eyes. He looked like a pure innocent kid who cares about everyone around him. He resembled the symbol of hope in the mill with his young face features and hardworking personality; a further reason of why he was a great choice for being the savior of the moment. Bruhl’s character was very brave as well. He always had the look of a strong, heroic warrior. You could immediately see loyalty and courageousness on his face.
His trustworthy looking character made him the perfect fit for Tonda. Robert Stadlober was also well casted as Lyschko for his unfaithful and traitor resemblance. Lastly, Christian Redl was magnificent as the evil sorcerer. Kreuzpaintner wanted someone who will be seen and remembered for his evilness, well he got a perfect match. Redl was the character that kids would be terrified from after watching the movie, which was the intended goal. Redl had the mindset of an evil magician; he looked scary even without the aid of the makeup effects. The casting was a major reason behind the success of Krabat.
Kreuzpaintner succeeded in engaging the viewers more into the movie by creating this naturally looking, realistic set that relied on real villages, real nature, and only a few special effects. All these forests, grasslands, and even the mountains around the mill were used as the filming set that added refinement and assured simplicity. This outstanding work resulted in a realistic atmosphere cutting down the costs of creating a fake set. The dusty makeup faces, the worn-out journeymen customs, and the village girls’ dresses also helped engage the viewer more into the setting of the movie.
The dusty faces and the worn-out clothes represented the hard work the journeymen were forced to do at the mill, and also the desperation they felt. The simple colorful girls’ dresses resembled hope and love that the journeymen were deprived of. Something else to notice with the settings were the colors used and lighting provided. Everything inside the mill was always pictured dark and dusty and had the lack of any use of a bright color or even a beam of sunshine resembling deprivation, devastation, and death.
But once the camera shoots outside the mill, you could the greenness of the nature, water surfaces, and bright sunshine resembling freedom and life. The simple set design and customs supported in maintaining the beauty and the originality of the film. Surely the movie was not the “perfect fantasy” film that just leaves the viewers amazed by it or results in the crowd asking for a sequel or any of that, but it was a simple neat movie that revived a legend that was written years ago.
The magnificent work that Kreuzpaintner’s team put in on the cinematography, the casting, and the set design and customs resulted in such a profound piece that earned respect and received various compliments in Hollywood and on the social media. The movie did have some negative unnecessary elements indeed, like the explosion of the mill at the end of the movie, but these flaws were covered by all the amazing work that the production team has put in.
The movie did and will receive a lot of criticism of course, but at the end remember the low budget that the production team worked with. According to the box office records, the average Hollywood movie budget is somewhere around $130 million, which is more than 10 times what Kreuzpaintner and his team had in the production of Krabat (Box office/business for Krabat). We also all know how many of these “reviving fantasies” movies failed miserably in Hollywood. Thus, given the circumstances, the movie was a remarkable masterpiece.
