Michael (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1924)

More silent films to watch, then, and the next on my list was the German-produced Michael by the Danish director Dreyer. I had never heard of this film before, but apparently it had been “rediscovered” by the Masters of Cinema collection and was one of their earliest releases. So of course, I was interested in watching this. I wasn’t too fascinated with Dreyer’s Le passion de Jeanne d’Arc (1928), excuse me, but I loved Ordet (1955) and Vampyr (1932). Incidentally, Vampyr was the first film I reviewed on this site, so good to come back to Dreyer after all this time. Anyway, Michael...

The story is about a famous and prestigious painter. One day, a young aspiring painter comes to meet him and get some sort of advice. Instead, the older painter wants to use this young man, Michael, as his new model, and he becomes a whole new inspiration. What is most interesting about this film is how, the old man is completely isolated in his world of art, except of course for Michael, who becomes his closest friend and companion. As we would expect, things don’t always stay perfect, and eventually Michael and the old artist start to fall apart, especially when the old artist starts to paint a young woman instead of Michael, who falls in love with this young woman. The core of the story is the isolation and tragedy of the aging artist, who only lives for his art. However, there is a strong sense of the aging artist having a homoerotic relationship with Michael, and all the conflicts are concerned between these two men. Much like Pabst’s films, it is a bit astounding that they explored such issues in the “old days”, but then again this wasn’t Hollywood, and it is probably more that we are not so used to such themes in old films, at least far from as much as they do today.

One of the main selling points of the film is its great cinematography, which really captures the space of where the artist lives and creates a very dark mood. The accompanying music was also helpful, although the Masters of Cinema DVD provided me with the option of two different tracks, and I only listened to one, so I can’t comment any further than that. This being said, this is not my favourite Dreyer film, hell, it’s not even my favourite silent film, by far. It is a pretty damn film in its own right and an interesting addition to the films I’ve seen by Dreyer, but, somewhere I felt it lost the plot. The theme about isolation and loneliness are interesting, but are rather thin, and I definitely felt that the film could have been shorter and more focused, a problem I often find with films. Less is more, that insipid cliché, is even truer for cinema. I am happy that I saw this, though, and for anyone interested in the works of Dreyer, definitely check this out, it is better than that OTHER overrated film of his. I you are not that interested in Dreyer, though, I would recommend any of the silent films by Murnau over this, they are mostly all fantastic films.

Pretty good silent film by the master Dreyer, but I felt somewhat cheated; there could have been more in certain areas, and less in others. Otherwise, a very enjoyable film in its own right, and worth checking out for Dreyer enthusiasts.

Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932)

Vampyr is an early surreal horror-film by Dreyer. It's a particularly hypnotic film which borders on the real and imaginary, and the viewer is left with many riddles. This is achieved by some interesting cinematography and very peculiar camera-angles. The pace of the film is also relentless and leaves you in a state of always not quite knowing what's really happening and what is a dream. This gives the film a otherworldly quality that you rarely see in cinema, perhaps the best other example is Ugetsu Monogatari by Mizoguchi, which leans on some of the same quality. The film also, like many other of the 30's, have many traces of old silent-film techniques, mixed with overdubbed dialogue and sound effects. This also contributes to the films mythic quality.




The most interesting and unnerving part of the film is the sometimes skewed camera-angles that are very unique to this film and used to great effect, although they have somewhat become a cliché. Dreyer's unrelenting camera follows the action from a viewpoint that we quite can't trust, something always seems to be wrong or out of place, we are often asked the question what is reality and what is not. A particular scene which is phenomenal is when the lead-character explores the surrounding area and see several shadows dancing. These kind of scenes creates a feeling that a ghost world is always present, and makes the dangers linger in our mind throughout the film.




Some scenes seem to lead nowhere and serve no plot purposes. However, they do serve to create the atmosphere of the film, and further dazzles the audience. We are at the beginning informed that the lead character may fantasize about the presence of ghosts and vampires, so when the threat really do seem to arrive we are even then never sure of it. Was this film all a fantasy, or a mix of reality and a dream world? It's quite a fascinating picture, that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in such films that offers a startling kick to the senses. It's also a good look at the transition Dreyer made between silent and sound.