Man With A Movie List

Director: Yevgeni Bauer Year: 1914 Runtime: 0:37 Source:  Youtube The two Yevgeni Bauer films on the list seem to me attempts to distill the essence of deep, psychological Russian romantic novels into short films. Technically, they're very accomplished, particularly in the lighting and mise-en-scene. Each shot seems carefully composed. The story here inverts that of the previous film: instead of a wealthy heiress "corrupted" by her encounters with the working class (although it seems to me she ends in a fair position), here it is a poor laundress who is brought into high society by a prince who is in love with her supposed innocence. She almost immediately becomes entranced by the superficial frivolities of class, spends all of the prince's money and leaves him destitute for another suitor. In both Bauer films, the men act well, but their arcs are so dull and melodramatic that it's hard to stay interested in them.  The women, on the other hand, are fascin...

Director: Yevgeni Bauer Year: 1913 Runtime: 0:48 Source:  Youtube Our first Russian film is a compact tragedy with a lot for us to unpack.  It comes from Yevgeni Bauer, an interesting film pioneer who died a few short months before the October Revolution.  And indeed, this is a rare glimpse into late Tsarist society.  It follows a young, depressed heiress Vera who feels without purpose.  The early scenes showing her internal isolation are the best; Bauer uses lighting expertly to highlight her feelings of loneliness.  Inspired by her mother, she gets excited by philanthropy, but is deceived by a crudely stereotypical drunkard and wastrel Maksim, who steals from and incompetently kidnaps her.  Not letting herself be taken advantage of, she murders him in his stupor. Later, she is pursued by a courteous, doting prince.  She falls for him quickly, but realizes she can't connect with him emotionally, because she can't help but see Maksim when s...