Leni Riefenstahl: A Memoir

[Foxbat]

Published by Picador USA 1992
UK Title: The Sieve Of Time

Born in 1902, died in 2003.
Helene Bertha Amelie ‘Leni’ Riefenstahl is probably one of the most fascinating and talented women of the 20th century, and this book tells her story in her own words. Around six hundred and fifty pages in length, it chronicles her time as a dancer, mountain climber, actress, director, photographer and Scuba diver (which she took up at the age of seventy two).

I found this book a no-nonsense account in which she pulls no punches and displays no false modesty what-so-ever. She knew she was good at her craft and wasn’t afraid to say so. It follows a straight-forward chronology which includes her time pre World War 2 making both Triumph Of The Will and Olympia (the former often cited as the best piece of propaganda ever made, the latter often quoted by film historians as among the ten most important films of the 20th century). Particular attention is paid here of her hatred of Goebbels - and this sits contrary to the opinion of some that she was part of a Nazi clique.

The post war years cover her struggle to maintain her innocence against the accusations of being a Nazi. Finding it almost impossible to work as a director, it tells of her time in Africa. Here she put together a stunning book of photographs of the (now extinct) Nuba tribesmen, survived a near fatal crash and began her period of underwater photography.

Educating, enlightening, succinct (the size of this book mirrors the length of her life rather than a meandering and long winded explanation of facts) - Riefenstahl’s memoirs stand like an Everest among the puny tomes from half-literate footballers and self absorbed singers we are bombarded with on a daily basis nowadays. Here is a woman who has done so much, been admired and reviled in equal measure, stood alone against the clamour and proclaimed her innocence, and has left a real mark on the world with the sheer quality of her work.

But, no matter how much she would have liked it to be different, the story of Leni Riefenstahl will always revolve around the accusations of her involvement (or non-involvement) with Hitler and his Nazi thugs. Everybody who could be cited as a witness for or against Riefenstahl is dead and, ultimately, we only have her words to tell us what really happened. Is that enough? Well written though it might be, it is still only the reader that can base an opinion on what resides on these pages.

She’s the type of person you’d invite to dinner, just so as you could look her in the eye and ask her for the truth…….but don’t expect an answer. Leni Riefenstahl was a woman that would clam up just because you’d dared to ask the question in the first place – not because she was afraid to answer it. One thing she did not lack was courage in the face of adversity…and for that alone, she has my respect.

Quite simply, I couldn’t put this book down.

[j. d. worthington]

Glad to see a book on Riefenstahl. From watching interviews with her, I feel rather ambivalent about her, and uncertain about her connection/lack of same with the Nazi party. I do know, from watching Olympiad and at least the latte half of Triumph of the Will, that she was a brilliant film director, at least as brilliant at D. W. Griffith at his best; closer to Abel Gance in quality; it's unfortunate that what is perhaps her greatest work cinematically was -- through her intent or not -- perverted to such ends. But, then, Fritz Lang's Metropolis was twisted to that end, as well, and Lang was an ardent anti-Nazi (while Thea von Harbou, who wrote the screenplay for the film and also the novel, became just the opposite), and the film itself seems to be almost diametrically opposed to Nazi practices.

At any rate, thanks for letting us know about this. I may not be able to get to it for awhile, but it's nice to know there's at least one autobiography out there that promises to be thought-provoking rather than the literary version of Muzak.