Though set in medieval times, this story had a particular resonance at the time it appeared. The gypsies, harmless but despised, are driven throughout Europe and not allowed to live in peace. Well, at the end of the Thirties, how could this be anything but an analogy with the Jews of Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia? The leader of the gypsies, who are refused admission at the gates of Paris, is even a very Jewish-looking man with a heavy black beard and brows and a slight Jewish accent. But, while the movie may have started as a plea, it ended as a lament--during its production the Nazis invaded Poland, and by the time the film opened, at the end of the year, World War II had begun.
Another aspect of the film is resonant in our own time. The crowd is shown as vicious and fickle, the only constant its lust for sensation. They don't care whether Esmeralda is being hanged or rescued, they care only for excitement. And their passions aren't restrained by the facts. The beggars lay siege to the cathedral to "rescue" Esmeralda, who is in fact in no need of being rescued. As a result, people are brained by falling rocks, scalded by molten lead, and run through by lancers. All for no reason. Yet there is no mourning because someone rides up with an exciting proclamation, so everyone yells hooray, hooray.
Does this portrayal of "the people" as mindless, violent, and self-destructive have any relevance to our own time? What do you think?
Another aspect of the film is resonant in our own time. The crowd is shown as vicious and fickle, the only constant its lust for sensation. They don't care whether Esmeralda is being hanged or rescued, they care only for excitement. And their passions aren't restrained by the facts. The beggars lay siege to the cathedral to "rescue" Esmeralda, who is in fact in no need of being rescued. As a result, people are brained by falling rocks, scalded by molten lead, and run through by lancers. All for no reason. Yet there is no mourning because someone rides up with an exciting proclamation, so everyone yells hooray, hooray.
Does this portrayal of "the people" as mindless, violent, and self-destructive have any relevance to our own time? What do you think?