Romeo and Juliet in the Country

Romeo and Juliet in the Village is the best-known novella by Swiss writer Gottfried Keller (1819–1890). It was inspired by a report in a Zurich newspaper about the tragic end of a young love affair. The lovers, children of two poor, feuding families, went to a dance together. They danced until the early hours of the morning and were found shot dead the next morning. The novella was first adapted into a film in Switzerland in 1941 by director Valerien Schmidely. Another version was filmed for Ufa in 1944 by director Eduard von Borsody, who radically altered the story’s conclusion. Siegfried Kühn remained faithful to Keller’s realistic approach. His interpretation highlights the period’s authentic details and underscores the close connection between humans and nature, which plays an important role here.