Vera Kholodnaya was ‘The Queen of Screen’ that most
people haven’t seen. She was a sensation in pre-Revolutionary Russia making
over 50 films of which, sadly, only some five remain extant. She has a unique
screen presence being both enigmatic and – objectively - remarkably beautiful as
well as being a fine naturalistic actor. Her expressive face – huge eyes
shining through generous amounts of dark eyeshadow – is matched by a dancer’s
poise (she had classical ballet training at the Bolshoi Theatre no less) and an
expressive physicality. At one point in this film, she almost shivers with
disgust – a violent shake of her shoulders – whilst at other times she is more
understated than you’d expect: carrying a lot within even though in torment…
she’s the story in this story.
This is the first of Yevgeni Bauer’s films I have seen on
the big screen and the 35mm print was warm without being perfect but for an
actor for whom we only have 10% of her output, that’s more than good enough.
Bauer’s style is always a delight, his mise-en-scene is rich in detail and
feels solidly part of the world. His characters move across these spaces in carefully
choreographed movements – like figures on a chess board – and whilst the scenes
are mostly tableaux there is a fair amount of camera mobility with one
memorable pull-in on a dolly for a wedding banquet which is then pulled back. He
was also a pioneer of montage. This was Tsarist Russia during the Great War, but
it was far from isolated from European culture – indeed, the language of the royal
court had been French and not Russian.
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| Vera Kholodnaya on a typical Yevgeni Bauer set |
Based on the novel by French writer, Georges Ohnet, A
Life for a Life (1916) is the story set firmly in the Russian upper-class
set. Mrs Khromova (Olga Rakhmanova) is a wealthy industrialist who runs her
factory very effectively – a strong female character and one you might not find
in some other cultures at this time? She has a birth-daughter, Musya (Lydia
Koreneva) and another she has adopted, Nata (Kholodnaya). Both girls are of
marrying age and, whilst Nata has attracted the attention of the wealthy
merchant Zhurov, (Ivane Perestiani) she does not love him. Into their lives
comes the wastrel Prince Vladimir Bartinsky (Vitold Polonsky) who has no money
and plenty of debts. He woos Musya as she is the only daughter who will inherit
from their mother, yet, he has lost his heart to Nata who has no money nor,
being adopted, the rights to any.
A bargain is struck between the two men and Zhurov offers
to help the prince marry Musya in return for having a free run at Nata… thus do
both men abuse the trust of the family. Zhurov makes the prince’s case to
Madame Khromova but she is only finally swayed by the affection her daughter
shows for this dubious character. Musya hardly knows what she’s getting into,
and her mother warily takes the chance… which, as we already know will be a big
mistake.
This is a not unfamiliar set up but the resolution, after
so much bad behaviour from the Poncey Prince led to a ripple of applause and
the odd whoop! A film that is of particular value for its period, its director
and its star.
Accompaniment came from Daan van den Hurk who did all
three proud.
Phantom Tram Ride of the Day: Promenading
Rothesay (GB 1906-1909) was a lovely slide through the surprisingly
beguiling Rothesay, packed with Glaswegian trippers no doubt unconvinced of the
weather prospects on the nearby Isle of Arran. I’m sure you all know but the
13th-century Rothesay Castle is unique in Scotland for its circular plan. All
the better for keeping the English out!
We also experienced A Ride on the Peak Tramway, Hong
Kong (GB 1900) which had more gradient but less gravitas. Still, second place
is no disgrace for what was a regular part of my sister’s old commute when she
worked for HSBC.
Mary Pickford and Thomas Meighan
Now THIS is a Marshall Neilan film I can do business
with:
It was time for an unseen-by-me Mary Pickford and as with
her Doug, she’s a shot in the arm for any jaded festival-goer on Day Six of reading,
watching and blogging. If only I had a tenth of her energy in M’Liss (US 1918)
still it was the perfect caffeinated treat for the early session.
Mary plays feisty underdog with quirky gimmick weapon (a
sling and NO, this is not being written with AI…) Melissa 'M'liss' Smith, who
lives in the mining town of Red Gulch in the High Sierra with her old man, John
Benson "Bummer" Smith (Theodore Roberts) who spends his time bumming
favours, drink and food after losing his fortune – a fool for gold. His estranged
brother, who doesn’t have a nickname, does have a fortune and when he dies it’s
headed out West but not if various interested parties have anything to do about
it.
You can, of course, tell which way this one is going but
if I add the words: Thomas Meighan plays school-teacher Charles Gray, to the
mix, you can be sure that there’s going to be some Irish going down. I loved
this one. Uncompromising fun the Mary way! YES. Oh and Tully Marshall’s in it
as is Monte Blue as “Mexican Joe” (yeah, right!).
John Sweeney, cocked his ten-gallon hat to one side and road most excellent side-saddle on this from start to finish. A wild and western ride!
Irie Takako and Tokihiko Okada,
The Art of the Benshi: The Water Magician (JP
1933)
Kenji Mizoguchi’s film felt like a good book or a high-quality
streaming series on Apple TV… there’s a deliberate and detailed logic driving
every character and their actions with a narrative that also didn’t cheat. It
fell as “full” and as rich as Bauer’s stage tableaux.
Irie Takako plays Tomo, a "mizugei" (water artist)
touring with a circus troupe in Kanazawa. She meets a coach driver, Kinya (Tokihiko
Okada) and encourages him to overtake the rickshaw that has just outpaced his
one-horse power and whilst they win the race, he breaks his axle. This is the
start of a love affair between the two that sees them battle to make a living
during tough times for the Japanese economy. She funds his law studies but is
eventually forced into making compromises that lead to tragedy…
I like the way that no compromises are made – as so often
in Hollywood and the performances are top notch all round. A very mature film
from the centre of silent film excellence at this stage in film history.
Our Benshi was Ōmori Kumiko who put in some shift over
120 minutes and dozens of characters and she was accompanied by the Matsumura
Makia (piano), Katada Kisayo (percussion), Kiyomoto Nobuakira (shamisen). We
could get used to this! But overall a fab discovery for me!
Brutus (Amleto Novelli) joins the assasination of Julius Ceasar...
Early Cinema: Greco-Roman Antiquities - Prog. 2
More swords and sandals with a collection of early
Italian short films that would later be parts of feature films and starring
some of the same actors. Most notably we find Amleto Novelli in Enrico Guazzonis
Bruto (1911), and we know they will work together again as will the
actor and Enrique Santos in whose Santa Cecilia (1911) he is also found.
There was also Fernanda Negri Pouget – Ophelia in yesterday’s Hamlet – and future
star of The Last Days of Pompeii (1913).
It's been a feature of the week that we’ve been seeing
the pools of actors in Sweden, Italy and Germany who were often in films
together. All part of growing familiarity but also a reflection of the
relatively small groups involved in film at this stage.
Donald Sosin accompanied in classic style although not
wearing a toga.
Firenze: Love isn't, apparently, all you need...
Weimar Uncensored: Pest in Florenz (1919)
As Michael Cowan and Anton Kaes point out in their
catalogue essay, scriptwriter, 29-year-old Fritz Lang had seen so much death
and destruction in the army and beyond that it’s no wonder it was an influence
on his films throughout his career and especially in his early work. This is a
large-scale big budget film in which as they continue “allegorical archetypes”
do battle: Death, a seductive courtesan, tyrannical religious leaders and a would-be
saviour/hermit. There’s very little of the personal relationships needed to
really hold the attention and to power engagement. This might well explain why
Lubitsch’s Madame Dubarry – released the same year and featuring Pola
Negri wiped the floor with it at the box office.
Never-the-less this is some statement and one that I would
happily watch again just not late night on the Thursday of Le Giornate! There
are excellent performances from Marga von Kierska as the courtesan who leads a
sexual revolution and then Theodor Becker as Medardus, a hermit who is almost
the solution as he battles faith, reality, human nature and ultimately Plague,
as personified by Julietta Brandt walking through the crowds like some 21st
Century sci-fi alien playing the violin. It’s clearly an important work in many
ways sand is well directed by Otto Rippert.
Günter Buchwald (piano and fiddle) and Frank Bockius (percussion)
played their socks off and I loved the almost heavy metal tone of the introductory
section but once again both men proved that the Devil doesn’t necessarily have
all the best tunes, Pordenone’s accompanists do!
Actually, Novelli played Mark Antony…
ReplyDelete… in Bruto.
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