Die Marquise Von O…
Inspired by Heinrich von Kleist’s eponymous 1808 novella, Éric Rohmer’s elegant period drama tells the story of a virtuous widow who in 1799 finds herself inexplicably pregnant.
Set in northern Italy during the Napoleonic Wars, it features Edith Clever in the title role and Bruno Ganz as the Russian count who months before the discovery of her pregnancy had saved her from being raped by soldiers of the invading Russian army.
DIE MARQUISE VON O… was Rohmer’s first period drama. The French director is said to have learned German so he could make the film in the language of von Kleist. The beautiful cinematography of Néstor Almendros references artworks by painters of the period such as Caspar David Friedrich, Henry Fuseli, and Jacques-Louis David.