Variety, 1925
--Knock, knock.
--Who's there?
--*swirling kaleidoscope of eyeballs*
--*swirling kaleidoscope of eyeballs* who?
--
WARNING: spoilers below
German expressionism!
German expressionism!
The film starts with a prisoner being called to the warden's office where the man must make a decision about whether to grant clemency. The prisoner tells how he came to be in prison. A man named Boss Huller is a former acrobat who, after a serious injury, becomes the head of a shady carnival (the main draw is a "beauty pageant" which is like the saddest strip show ever). Against his wife's wishes he takes in a young woman, Bertha-Marie, and it's not long before she's throwing herself at him and he's not exactly resisting that much. Soon he leaves his wife (and baby!) to be with Bertha-Marie, and the two begin touring as trapeze artists. After a while, however, Bertha-Marie's attention wanders to a young, handsome trapeze artist.
It was a funny coincidence to watch this film after
The Children Are Watching Us. I made a remark about women/mothers being judged more harshly for leaving their family and it was interesting to see that in this film. Huller is positioned as a highly sympathetic character, even as he abandons his wife and child, even as he hits Bertha-Marie when she flirts with him. It was the only criticism that I had of the film, where Bertha-Marie is seen as the evil one, while she is significantly younger than him and he is the one who has commitments to a family.
It's the story of a man falling from grace, but I felt that the film leaned into Bertha-Marie a bit too much which puts the weight of the conflict on her as opposed to where it belongs (hint: on the person who actually broke wedding vows). The wife and baby are completely forgotten, by both the movie and the main character. The abandonment should be more of a crime than the seduction, but that's not how the film sees it. And this is complicated even more by the treatment of Bertha-Marie, who not only is hit by Boss, but whose first encounter with the young trapeze artist is an assault--he locks her in his room, pushes her down, and literally puts her in a choke-hold. Despite this (and, you know, the fact that her mother died on the boat and she was basically sold to a carnival), her character is never afforded any sympathy.
Those minor quibbles aside, I really enjoyed this film. The performances are strong and the story is compelling. We know from the framing device that Boss is going to kill Bertha-Marie and/or her lover, and the last 25 minutes or so is pure suspense. The film toys with the viewer, repeatedly setting up moments when Boss might snap and lash out. I kept thinking "this is it!" only for him to reconsider.
And on a visual front the film is stellar. The sets and framing are super cool, right from the very beginning as Boss walks down a prison hallway of shrinking square wooden frames. Films that take place in a performance environment have a great advantage, and
Variety pulls out several stunning sequences of circus/carnival acts, including excellent trapeze scenes. The trapeze scenes use a moving camera and a dizzying alternation of close-up and far-away shots, which heightens the suspense every time.
This was just an excellent film. Dupont is not a director I've seen much from, and I'm glad he's now on my radar.