Plot Points
The setting of the film.
Berlin.
The film's popularity during World War II.
Extremely popular, a major box office success.
The alliterated European-American film star Leander often satirized before her stay with Ufa.
Greta Garbo
Leander's birth country
Sweden
The profession of the main male character, Robert.
Luftwaffe Officer/Pilot.
The film's impact on German cinema.
One of the most successful and iconic films of the era.
German-American actress whose estate was quickly bought up by the Berlin Senate after her death as a way to ‘atone’ for their treatment of her.
Marlene Dietrich
Traditionally masculine term used to describe Leander’s unusually deep contralto voice.
Baritone/bass
The reason why Hannah is in Berlin.
To perform at the Scala cabaret.
The film's portrayal of war.
Romanticized and escapist.
The film concept that focuses heavily on gratuitous on-screen elements.
Visual Excess
The aesthetic category used to refer to Leander's voice, often associated with intensity, pain, and overwhelming sensation.
Feminized sublime
The event that separates Hanna and Robert.
Robert is sent to the front lines.
The film's star, Zarah Leander, was known for this.
Leander/Astrée’s “object of desire” in La Habanera
Don Pedro
The multisensory effect Leander's voice was said to have on audiences.
Enveloping somatic experience
The ultimate fate of Robert.
He is presumed dead, but survives.
The film's lasting cultural significance.
Remains a classic of German cinema, often debated for its wartime context.
Goebbels’ concept that some argue applies to the marketing of Leander’s vocal talents, across radio programs, mass rallies, spectacles, holidays, and commemorations.
Orchestra Principle
The iconic song performed by Zarah Leander in the film.
"Davon geht die Welt nicht unter" (The World Won't End Because of It)