Narziss und Goldmund (2020)

The boy Goldmund is brought by his father to the medieval monastery of Mariabronn. His father pays for the boy to receive a monastic education there—and so that he will never have to see him again. His mother, he says, has brought shame upon the family. The slightly older monastery student Narziss is assigned by the monk Anselm to look after the newcomer. Over time, the two very different boys become friends. Narziss teaches Goldmund the strict monastic rules and introduces him to life at the monastery. At first, the spirited, pleasure-loving Goldmund tries to imitate his friend in everything, but he seems unsuited to the austere monastic life. Narziss has to defend the frail boy not only against older bullies but also against the beatings inflicted by Lothar, the Latin teacher. Seven years later, the two have grown into young men. Goldmund, who has an artistic talent, works as an illuminator in the scriptorium. He begins to struggle with the routine of monastic life and realizes that the future the monastery offers him does not accord with his idea of freedom. When Narziss realizes that Goldmund longs for more than friendship and that the love of God is not enough for him, he increasingly withdraws from him. A visit to the village becomes a turning point for Goldmund, where an older woman exposes her breasts to the novices. The young men have persuaded Goldmund to draw pictures of the display for them. The ascetic Narziss, by contrast, has stayed behind at the monastery. As the group leaves the woman’s hut, a younger woman asks the handsome Goldmund to come back. Goldmund is at once drawn to the atmosphere in the village and confused by it. The monk Anselm, who has since become abbot, has already realized that Goldmund cannot be happy at the monastery. He asks Narziss to let him leave, partly because people are already gossiping about their friendship. Narziss initially rejects the request, but Anselm points out that he must make this sacrifice and send Goldmund away himself, since Goldmund will listen only to him. Soon, an opportunity presents itself when Narziss finds the erotic drawings Goldmund has made from memory. The two quarrel over them. Narziss reproaches Goldmund and says that such things do not belong there. Goldmund replies that perhaps he no longer belongs there either. Narziss confirms this, and Goldmund leaves the monastery. While Narziss continues to live and act ascetically according to the strict rules of the religious community, Goldmund sets out in search of his mother. Another fifteen years pass before the two meet again, with Narziss, now elected abbot, and Goldmund reunited in an awkward situation: Narziss has been invited to a celebration hosted by the prince whose lands include the monastery of Mariabronn. Suddenly, a naked man is brought in by the guards. Narziss immediately recognizes him as Goldmund. He has been caught naked in the rooms of the prince’s wife. The prince has him thrown into the dungeon. Under a pretext, Narziss visits the prisoner, finds him badly beaten, and helps him escape by giving him his own clothes. Later, Narziss encounters Goldmund again, now seriously injured. He takes him to the monastery and has him nursed back to health. At the abbey, Goldmund tells him about his adventures. He has learned the craft of sculpture and found the great love of his life, Lene, who died after being raped by a plague victim. He never found his mother. To keep him at the abbey a little longer, Narziss commissions him to make an altar. Goldmund creates a masterpiece unlike anything anyone has seen before. Each saint’s figure bears the face of a woman who has shaped his life. Only the face of the Virgin Mary remains unfinished. During a visit to his seriously ill father, he learns that his father murdered his mother when she tried to leave him. Freed from the trauma of believing that his mother had rejected him, the artist now wants to complete the work. But the fanatical monk Lothar sets the altar on fire. Goldmund dies from the effects of the fire in Narziss’s arms.