french silent film that uses the plot of king lear as a launching pad. an old father and his wife are unable to work their farm anymore so they split their land between their children. instead of war ensuing, the children become cruel towards their parents and greed consumes them. it's filmed in a pretty straight-forward way, it uses mostly middle range and close-up shots. characters are introduced with a mid shot and then typically given a full face shot. acting is more reserved than many of the typical expressionistic silent films of the early film age. it's black and white through most of the film, but does us some tinting - blue for the night scenes and one snowfall scene (to great effect) and red for an indoor candlelit scene (again to good effect). themes such as the circularity of life, greed, love, and mother nature are addressed. it's a finely layered film with some comic elements and solid storytelling. it's not for most casual filmgoers, but for fans of silent cinema is certainly recommendable. B.
Review of La terre
