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Cœur fidèle (Faithful Heart)

Director: Jean Epstein
Year: 1923
Runtime: 1 hr 27 min
Source: Archive.org (English subs found elsewhere online)

Part of the reason I'm using this list is the high possibility of great unknown foreign classics, and this definitely fits that bill.  Faithful Heart is an extremely early example of what would Quentin Tarantino once characterized as the classic stereotype of European film-making: the plot is painfully simple and there are few surprises, but it hits home because of effective editing and pacing.

In this case, we have an orphaned girl Marie who falls in love with a kind dockworker Jean, but is forced by her cruel adoptive parents to marry a local drunkard with the unfortunate name Petit Paul.  Jean and Petit Paul end up brawling, Jean ends up in jail while Petit Paul escapes, and by the time Jean gets out Petit Paul and Marie have an infant child.  I won't spoil the end, except to say that no one comes out of this story looking very responsible, save for an innocent disabled woman played by Jean's sister and collaborator Marie.  (It did occur to me that the two lovers in this movie share names with the director and his sister, but don't really know if anything needs to be made of this.)

The rather plaintive melodrama is entirely rescued by some phenomenal cinematography and editing, as well as strong performances by the leads, masters of silent film expressions.  There are powerful close-ups that are reminiscent of Dreyer, double exposures and fade outs.  My favorite image is how a slightly turbulent sea is imposed onto a shot of the two lovers, and becomes symbolic of their relationship.  Somehow the image is both calming and foreshadows the pain in their future.

Given such a strong piece, I don't know why Jean Epstein seems to be almost completely forgotten today.  In a way, he seems like the natural first link in a chain that leads to Bresson and Godard - the start of a grand French tradition.  (Feuillade is wonderful, but not sure how he fits into that tradition.)
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