Steppenwolf

Faced with Hesse's intensely introspective text about the intellectual and emotional crisis of a middle-aged man, Haines opts for a '60s-ish semi-psychedelic approach, with some fetching animated interpolations, an amusing appearance by Clémenti, and a marginal, simplistic 'let's all get stoned' moral. The latter aspect now looks distinctly corny, and some might regard it as a gross misreading of the original. But even the staunchest Hesse devotee will find compensations in Sydow's characterisation and the comparative fidelity of the film's first half.