The Faithful Heart

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Audience Member It's like watching the language of cinema being invented sometimes - except that some of the lyrical moves of these early silent films seem to have been lost to the ages in this era of CGI action films. And "The Faithful Heart" is as far from an action movie as you can probably get, although perhaps the bare bones melodrama plot has made it into a fair few action movies (boy falls in love with girl who is taken away by different bad boy until she is rescued/released by the original boy). Here instead, we have a gauzy romantic look at yearning, full of giant close-up heads, sometimes superimposed onto images of the vast ocean (as the film takes place at the docks). Equally impressive is a sequence at the funfair featuring dizzying rhythmic cutting that bespeaks an impressionistic vision of the heroine's alarm. All told, director Jean Epstein herein demonstrates a mastery of the medium that is beautiful to look at, even as the plot feels like simply a shell to hold his ideas. But oh what ideas! Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member A early treasure from Master of Avant-Garde Cinema France's own Jean Epstein. The film's centre is a somewhat heart breaking but undeniably powerful but struggling love triangle. Inspired by creating a melodrama with substance the director claimed he wrote the script in one evening. Filled with so many visually arresting scenes & Jean Epstein fascinating use of the ocean & the locales surrounding it. In no regards a light film it has an emotional potency but is rather engaging. It's truthful raw & has many sequences that will stay with you. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Une femme mariée de force à une brute vit en cachette son amour véritable. Au niveau du scénario c'est plutôt convenu, mais comme bien des films muets, l'histoire est moins importante que la façon dont elle est racontée. Epstein l'a dit lui-même dans une conférence: il voulait faire un mélodrame et le scénario a été écrit en une nuit. Ce qui l'intéressait réellement, c'était de s'attaquer à une forme très populaire et d'essayer d'en tirer un jus nouveau. À mon avis c'est pas mal réussi. Visuellement, ça décoche. C'est un film extrêmement bien réalisé et très "photographique" dans ses prises de vue. La musique composée par Maxence Cyrin pour la plus récente restauration est de toute beauté et accompagne merveilleusement bien les images. Il y a pas mal de scènes plutôt cultes qui en ont inspiré d'autres plus connues -- comme par exemple le meurtre du policier qui rappelle celui de Godard dans À bout de souffle. C'était mon premier Epstein et ça m'a donné envie d'explorer plus à fond son oeuvre. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Visually beautiful silent film with some gorgeous images and a simple, engaging story. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member "<i>Forever</i>" A silent film with a narrative often described as melodramatic - but with astounding visual flair. Jean Epstein used film techniques such as non-sequential time-lines, double exposure, flashbacks & rapid montage to create a very memorable set of scenes. I didn't really care for the story but this must be a great feat for the director as I was sucked into caring for the protagonists - with both scenes at the fairground truly memorable especially with such juxtaposing emotions. I am dying to see the brilliant style & direction of Epstein married with the brilliant storytelling of Edgar Allen Poe in 'The Fall of the House of Usher', surely a winning combination. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Faithful Heart

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