Twilight of a Woman's Soul (1913)

An example of Bauer's dramatic use of lighting

My first 1913 film is a real discovery for me.  Twilight of a Woman's Soul is the first film by Evgeni Bauer, a Russian filmmaker whose film career was cut short when, in 1917, he broke his leg and suffered medical complications leading to his death from pneumonia.

The story itself will strike modern audiences schooled in traditional movie plots as ridiculous.  A young, beautiful, rich woman named Vera finds herself lonely in her estate, even when surrounded by her wealthy friends.  When her mother takes her to help with the poor, she feels she has found her calling.  However, Maxim, the first man she attempts to help, rapes her.  As Maxim passes out drunk, Vera seizes the opportunity and kills him with a knife.  Later, she meets a handsome prince who falls in love with her, but will her secret tear them apart?

The astounding thing for me in this movie is the lighting.  There are repeated shots where the background is well-lit, but the foreground is in shadow and the movement of actors between the spaces tells you everything you need to know about their mood.  Bauer also creates sets that create transparent barriers between Vera and her upper-crust life, showing how lonely she is. Bauer is doing all of the heavy lifting to establish mood; the acting serves merely as a punctuation mark.

Technically, the movie also features a great, but subtle forward tracking shot, a well done special effectthat provides a ghost-like quality to the poor people in Vera's dream and a shot where the prince is momentarily replaced by the hideous man she killed through clever editing.  The director cuts from both the rape and the murder before they occu, leaving the events to the viewer's imagination.  It is hard to believe it is Bauer's first film.

As I said above, modern film lovers will have a really hard time with this plot.  Essentially, it paints this young woman as completely naive and hiding her secrets.  The poor are shown as liars and cheats who quickly turn their gambling table into a dining room table when the rich woman shows up to help.  In an early attempt to reveal her secret to the prince, Vera only points out that she was with another man, not that she kills him (presumably because a lower class death really didn't matter).  The prince finally learns the secret and forces her to leave.  He later regrets the decision and attempts to find her, but it is too late.  The movie saves all of its pity for the prince, not the victim of a rape and certainly not any of the lower class characters.

Still, the technical skill and the use of lighting and sets to tell the story make this a signpost for me in my cinematic journey.  I would have loved to have seen Bauer's growth in the 1920's.

Watched on DVD from Netflix.  48 minutes.
Photo from Observations on Film Art