The Outlaw and His Wife (1918) User Reviews

A landmark in film history.

[the red duchess · 8/10 · 22 May 2001]

It is a truism that Victor Sjostrom's films dramatise the conflict between nature and society, but his treatment is less simplistic than might be first apparent. For instance, society in 'The Outlaw and his Wife' is ruled by a brutal, land-grabbing Bailiff who whips servants for losing a sheep; but it is also a place rich in pageantry, costume and rite, where communities can express themselves.

Similarly, nature might be a site of freedom for social outsiders, a sustaining idyll for lovers, and an awe-inspiring backdrop, but it also overflows in the lonely vagrant who comes close to rape, or the cliff and snows that can kill.

Throughout Sjostrom shifts impressively between registers - nature as both real presence and symbolic backdrop; plot as both social depiction and spiritual journey - while retaining familiar action pleasures.

Quite well made....and I could have sworn it was Iceland!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 24 May 2011]

It's hard to imagine, but only a few years before this film debuted, most films were only a few minutes long. And, full-length films really were a pretty new thing. So, to see a long, complex and cinematic film like "You and I" shows just how far the industry had grown. Victor Sjöström plays a man who is on the run from the law. Years earlier, he'd been sent to prison for stealing a sheep to feed his family and he'd eventually broken out of a tiny make-shift prison in Iceland. The film picks up when he's on the run in the interior of the country--looking for work and hoping no one recognizes him. In the process, a woman takes him in to work on her farm and eventually the two fall in love....at about the time the law shows up to claim him. The two run off together and live in the inhospitable wilds for the next 17 years (yikes). Exactly what happens is something you'll just need to see for yourself--but it does have some nice surprises.

The film is well worth seeing mostly for the nice acting and cinematography. Interestingly, in addition to starring in the film, Sjöström directed and co-wrote this film--and the look of the film can clearly be attributed to him. I also appreciate how he was able to recreate the look of Iceland nicely by apparently filming in the middle of no where AND in pretty inhospitable weather. A very good film--and it has some nice things to say about crime and punishment.

Described as the most beautiful picture in the world.

[Foxx · 7/10 · 21 January 1999]

This film was Victor Sjöströms international break-through and it's not hard to understand why. It wasn't the first time Sjöström had used the wild and unpredictable nature as an illustrator or commentator, but this time the scenery and the acting was in the same level of quality. A wonderful piece of art.

Victor Sjöström builds on his growing reputation

[wmorrow59 · 7/10 · 13 February 2007]

Although this film is set in 18th century Sweden and was produced in that country by Victor Sjöström, it unfolds very much like the sort of dark, gritty Westerns William S. Hart was making concurrently in California. With only minor alterations, Berg-Ejvind Och Hans Hustru (known as The Outlaw and His Wife in America) could have been a characteristic Bill Hart scenario, one that could have been remade in the 1950s by Anthony Mann as one of his brooding "adult" Westerns. Key story elements will certainly feel familiar to fans of the genre. The plot concerns a stranger with a possibly criminal past who arrives in an isolated community, where he lands a job as a laborer on a farm owned by a wealthy widow. The widow has spurned the advances of the local bailiff, who she despises, but is quickly drawn to her new employee despite the disturbing rumors about his background. The relationship between the widow and the stranger blossoms at a harvest celebration, but at the height of the party he is confronted by the bailiff with accusations and forced to defend his honor. We later learn that, like Hugo's Jean Valjean, he stole only to feed his starving family, later escaped from confinement, and has been persecuted ever since. Soon after, with the law hot on his heels, the outlaw and the widow throw in their lot together and head for the hills, where an eventual confrontation between the outlaw and the bailiff ends in death.

There are no saloons or cowboy hats here; where clothing is concerned the quaint costumes of this film may remind American viewers of the earliest settlers of New England. But whatever the time period or setting we can appreciate the elemental struggle of a wronged man to attain justice in an unjust world. And as in the great Westerns of Hart, Thomas Ince, John Ford, etc., natural landscapes are used to full advantage, especially in the mountain scenes. What makes Victor Sjöström's film specifically Scandinavian is a sense of fatalism bordering on the mystical: we're told that no matter how fast a man can run, he can't escape his fate, and that is certainly the crux of the matter where the "outlaw" Berg-Ejvind is concerned. Sjöström himself played the part in the stage version of this story and repeated it in the movie, while the role of the widow Halla was taken by his real- life spouse, Edith Erastoff. Their relationship is the heart of the story. In their early scenes together it's implied that the outlaw may be taking advantage of the widow to gain her property. A servant girl who works on the farm, younger and prettier than her mistress, taunts the newcomer that he would respond to her differently if she were the owner. But it gradually becomes clear that the outlaw's love for the widow is passionately sincere. When they take to the hills together they do so in full knowledge that she's giving up her property and that they'll have to live like vagrants, but they do so happily. Halla's philosophy is that love is the only law that matters, and this theme, like Berg-Ejvind's belief about fate, is fully demonstrated in the film's tragic final act.

This movie was the follow-up to Sjöström's 1917 breakthrough feature, Terje Vigen, which first gained him international attention. Personally, I prefer the simpler plot and tighter pacing of the earlier film. For me, Berg-Ejvind Och Hans Hustru would have been more effective if the story had unfolded in a shorter span of time. When we're told that the outlaw and his wife have been living in the mountains for years -- long enough to deliver and raise a baby who appears to be about three years old -- and then discover that they're still in the vicinity of Halla's former property, our credulity is strained. Why haven't they been caught by now? Why does it take the bailiff so many years to track them down? And then, when they're cornered, Halla's sudden sacrifice of their child was inexplicable to me. We might accept this sort of action in an ancient legend or biblical tale, but not in a basically realistic story of this sort. Still, the final scenes have an undeniable (albeit depressing) impact. I can see why this film enhanced Sjöström's growing stature as a top-flight director.

Scholars and silent film buffs will want to see this drama, and will likely appreciate it. But be forewarned: Berg-Ejvind Och Hans Hustru is an impressive film, but it's not a feel-good experience.

A Swedish Saga

[cstotlar-1 · 10/10 · 27 August 2014]

I have waited for years to see this film and finally caught it on Youtube - in excellent condition. It was definitely worth the wait! The film was made in 1918, a time when most cinema consisted of small segments of celluloid patched together with the standard melodramatic or comedic situations, clumsily filmed indoors on make-shift sets. This is absolutely nothing of the kind although it took Hollywood what seemed an eternity to figure out that a movie could, indeed, be shot out in the open with great success. Several reviewers have mentioned some sort of connection with early Westerns made by directors of little artistic talent and less scope. Actually, this film has nothing whatsoever to deal with standard plots with famous actors. The plot is extremely simple, as it should be in this case, and all - virtually all - of the over-the-board overacting and the theatrical motions and over-emotions suppressed, with natural gestures replacing them in natural settings...and what beautiful settings they are! No, there aren't any tied-together happy ends around and little to titillate the audience, villains with mustaches or any of the standard American clichés here. The film is Scandinavian, filmed and acted by Scandinavians, shot in North Sweden far, far away from the ole corral. I don't know how well the director, Victor Sjostrom, was acquainted with American cinema at the time - there wasn't really much of anything of much value going except from Griffith and one or two others, but the film borrows nothing and invents everything for its own uses. The cinema up there created a universe of its own, albeit a harsh one. Bergman would follow fifty years later. This was a welcome hour or so spent in the company of people who made some astoundingly good films and this is certainly one of them.

Curtis Stotlar

Cruel Nature

[Cineanalyst · 6/10 · 17 May 2005]

In parts, nature becomes a character in "The Outlaw and His Wife". The aim for right action becomes a struggle between man and cruel nature (physical nature, human nature and the forces of the universe). The dénouement is the prime example. Director Victor Sjöström would do this to even better effect in "The Wind". When nature isn't a central character, the film tends to slip into overdone melodrama. There is some good use of low-key lighting and tinting, but it's not always enough. The plot feels rushed at times, jumping years between scenes. Sjöström's girlfriend throwing the child off the cliff was especially abrupt. When the conflict with nature or the beautiful scenery is prominent, however, the film is ravishing.

Dramatic and well-paced

[gbill-74877 · 8/10 · 30 January 2020]

The stunning Lappland scenery and seeing Victor Sjöström made this one enjoyable for me, despite a little creakiness in the early going. The setup, actually told in a flashback, reminded me of Les Miserables in that a man (Sjöström) turns to theft out of poverty, but instead of the local parson forgiving him as in that work, he jails him instead. Perhaps there is commentary on the church in this, and the need to show a little kindness to the less fortunate, since everything that happens to this decent guy stems from that incident. Anyway, he breaks out of jail, finds work on a farm, and falls in love with the owner (Edith Erastoff), but his past is never far behind.

The film gets good and the drama increases when the pair flee to the mountains, where they live a rugged life and have a baby girl. There are several moments at a cliff that are quite tense, and one that seems hard to fathom (I mean, really hard to fathom). Maybe the film shows us what desperation will drive people to, aside from the theft - jealousy, turning on one another, and acts you'd never think possible. Set against the grand scenery of those timeless mountains and waterfalls though, the human struggle seems especially small, even when it is gripping.

The pace is quite good at 73 minutes - intertitles are kept to a minimum, and the story, while simple, moves along nicely. At times it feels like the psychological drama is as claustrophobic as the wilderness is wide open. The film is obviously a bit stiff to modern eyes, but it seems clear that for 1918, it was ahead of its time.

A tragic love story of an Icelandic outlaw with a groundbreaking filming process.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 7/10 · 3 August 2022]

Berg-Ejvind Och Hans Hustru / The Outlaw and His Wife (1918) : Brief Review -

A tragic love story of an Icelandic outlaw with a groundbreaking filming process. The first thing you should know about The Outlaw and His Wife is that it's a groundbreaking film when it comes to cinematography and the shooting process. It was groundbreaking for its portrayal of wild nature, as it was shot in two sessions in the spring and late summer. We modern audiences and critics talk about Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" (2014) for its long filming process that took 12 years or something, but how many of us ever discuss old treasures like this? We should, and I am doing my part today. Victor Sjöström's silent romantic tragedy has everything that makes for a good watch. The storyline is exactly what any romantic melodrama will have. It has emotion and that love factor working as the USPs throughout the narrative. At one point, I thought it was trying to be philosophical, but then everything went as planned, and believe me, I was hoping it would behave like a film made 104 years ago. A stranger comes to work at widow Halla's farm. She falls in love and he shares her feelings, but their happiness is cut short by God or destiny, whatever you call it, as his haunting past strikes with new challenges. Halla learns about Eyvind's past and yet decides to follow him for life. What challenges she had to face in the marriage and how they both tackled them is all that you get to see in The Outlaw and His Wife. Victor Sjöström's film seems like an extremely expressionist film, as Victor Sjöström and Edith Erastoff both give such exorbitant expressions. Also, we can't forget the fact that the cinema of 1918 was like this, even if it was changing rapidly in the West. Nevertheless, the greatest Swedish director of its time makes sure that your time is worth spending on something. Love story and love tragedy lovers should definitely see this to know the true meaning of love.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Life which walks the path of a cliff-face

[monolith94 · 8/10 · 10 April 2015]

It's difficult to know exactly how much lee-way to give a film like this in terms of being generous. To be sure, the camera was not very active in the 1910s. Although there were individual scenes in films which give the camera some movement and agency, by and large the camera was still, this stillness as much a result of the relatively limited camera technology as it was a result of early film seeming to come out of the fixed-perspective of theater-going.

However, people in the 1910s were beginning to understand the effectiveness of moving the camera for effect, and certainly by 1918 it was a known tool. A good example of this is in Yevgeni Bauer's 1915 film "Daydreams." Six minutes into the film the camera follows the action of a man walking down the street. They clearly intended to keep him in frame, but he accidentally walks out of frame as the camera slowly turns to the left to continue observing him; at the same time, the camera slowly backs away. As it does so, we see more of the buildings.

The Outlaw And His Wife would have been well served, in my opinion, with some more camera movement. It is a story of the lives of two characters on the edge of society, one who is there by circumstance, the other by choice. You would want the visuals of a tale like this to carry your audience away with them, so that more than merely witnessing the events in their lives we feel as though we are traveling along with them, leaving society behind.

Still, the film is better than many of its peers at the time in its attempt to break free of parlor-drama constraints. Sjostrom shoots in Nordic environments (Sweden, I believe) to give us the sense of life in remote Iceland, complete with landscapes which both seem to contain the characters within them while providing far off horizons and open skies which create a sense of freedom and limitlessness. More important still are the way Sjostrom uses the elements to create for our eyes an environment which both invites and threatens. The element of water almost becomes a character in itself, as the two main characters live out a life in Icelandic wilderness, in close proximity to both geysers and a lake/stream where they walk. One of the first (was it the first?) shot of the main protagonist is of him passing by a clear flowing mountain stream and drinking from it. In the final shot (SPOILER SPOILER) ice is used to great effect to illustrate the final outcomes of the two lovers, frozen in both space and time. Their reconcilement is ennobled by the ice which preserves them together, as two souls who care for each other despite their own mistakes our societies.

It is for moments like that and scenes where the film seems to break free of traditional constraints that the film is worth watching. The story is a pretty traditional tale, I can only imagine a plot considered well-trodden in 1918 as much as it would be today. The weakest link in the chain is, sadly, Edith Erastoff as Halla. I am willing to accept her as a romantic lead, despite her not being as attractive to a modern sensibility as perhaps she was in her day. However, she mostly over-acts, while at the same time her character over-reacts. Sjostrom is far more subdued, and lets the viewer imagine his emotions, while she uses wild facial expressions and physical gestures to force us to into recognizing her emotions. The film is also not entirely gloom and arctic winter darkness; Sjostrom effectively captures the warmth and growth of Spring in the far North as we see the two leads raising their daughter together.

If water is almost a character in the film, the environment certainly is, as the two outlaws of the film's title wind up living by a cliff-face. The practical effect of this is that they must tie their toddler by a rope to their camp, so she doesn't accidentally fall off. This is a nice visual illustration of the dilemma faced by Halla and Eyvind. Without societal support, their existence in the wilderness, while at most times sustainable and content, is only one mere slip away from destroying them both utterly.

This is that infamous "Let's chuck our sweet . . . "

[tadpole-596-918256 · 6/10 · 2 May 2022]

" . . . Bah-boo off the cliff" flick. Devised by devious Sons of Norway, THE OUTLAW AND HIS WIFE explicates that failed nation's credo, "When the law is closing in, fling your tykes off the nearest precipice." Life is cheap in Norway, which translates from the original European as "no way." Meaning "THIS is no way to live" or "There is no way that anyone else is as Evil as us!" OUTLAW is populated entirely by wrong-headed, anti-social sickos, who never see any options other than Doom and Gloom. When Kari tells his pillow mate of 18 years that "You are ugly; I've never realized how ugly you are until now; your face is like a dead horse's," this is considered a high mark of what passes for love poetry in Norway. Watching OUTLAW will likely warp many if not most viewers forever.

First to Use Wild Nature To Explain Human Condition

[springfieldrental · 8/10 · 9 August 2021]

Natural surroundings heighten a movie director's ability to examine his characters' identities. The first film in cinema to introduce soaring landscapes and weather elements for the purpose of exploring the actors' interior personalities is Swedish director Victor Sjostrom's January 1918 "The Outlaw and His Wife."

Based on the true story of a mid-1700 criminal escaping incarceration with his wife into the mountains of Iceland, "The Outlaw and His Wife" uses the stunning scenery of northern Sweden to reflect nature's impact on human behavior, especially displayed in the second half of the movie.

Sjostrom and Edith Erastoff appeared in the director's earlier "The Man There Was," and began a relationship despite Erastoff marriage status. In fact, Edith was pregnant with Sjostrom's child when filming "The Outlaw and His Wife." She delivered a girl, Guje Lagerwall, who lived to be 100, soon after the January premier. Sjostrom and Erastoff eventually married in 1922 after she secured a divorce from her first husband.

Sjostrom worked well with cinematographer Julius Jaenzon, who lends a surreal tone to this highly visual film. He uses the sun frequently to backlight the actors, and often overexposes the film to portray them in a fairytale-like glow. Jaenzon also silhouettes his on-camera personalities against huge backdrops to emphasize how puny people and their problems are in relation to the overall scheme of God's great work in presenting earth's majesty.

Besides man's co-existing with a sometimes turbulent nature, Sjostrom shows the psychological mechanics within a human relationship, especially reflected memorably in the sequence where Erastoff throws the couple's baby over the cliff. Such stress in hiding from the law in an unforgiving environment casts a light on the breaking point of the human condition in such circumstances.

Today's directors such as Terrance Malick, known for his photographic expertise, studied "The Outlaw and His Wife" for its natural elements incorporated into their characters' behavior and plot motivations. Sjostrom's film played a huge influence on later visually-stunning motion pictures using nature's varied landscapes.

best silent film i've seen yet

[elodienoyes · 7/10 · 27 September 2023]

On my continued journey through silent film from the early 20th century, this is my favorrite one yet. I found the changing colors much less distracting, and at points even felt like the colors added to the tone of the scene. I particularly enjoyed the costumes in this film, and found the plot much easier to follow than other films of this category. I enjoyed seeing a strong female character, unlike in 'A Man There Was'. There are both laughs and cries throughout this film, and the ending I thought was beautiful. The title cards consisted of more dialogue than I'd seen in previous films, which helped to make the plot more understandable.

The moral conflict of nature

[calspers · 5/10 · 5 October 2022]

The Outlaw and His Wife (1918) directed by Victor Sjöström is yet another impressive production in early cinema history.

The story revolves around a stranger who comes to work at a widow's (Halla's) farm. Halla and the stranger fall in love, but when he is revealed as Eyvind, an escaped thief forced into crime by his family's starvation, they flee and become two of the many outlaws of Iceland's mountains.

Victor Sjöström's early films are impressive in their own right. In The Outlaw and his Wife, he almost uses nature as a character, pressuring the humans of the film to the very brink of - and beyond - their moral values. This works effectively in driving a more abstract point of the film; what is one willing to do in order to ensure one's own safety and survival, and yet further abstract; what is good and evil as philosophical constructs?

It is similarly highly recommended for film buffs and those interested in cinema history just like Sjöström's earlier film Terje Vigen (1917), although The Outlaw and his Wife is not as contemporary as Terje Vigen. Lacking a score and being twice as long, it does not feel as focused although it definitely is more epic in its scale and production.

The movie may be outddated but the situation itself is not

[jordondave-28085 · 6/10 · 17 April 2023]

(1918) The Outlaw and His Wife/ Berg-Ejvind och hans hustru SILENT DRAMA

Co-written, directed and starring Victor Sjöström, he plays an unknown drifter, Kari (Victor Sjöström) looking for work and ends up working at a farm, owned by Halla (Edith Erastoff). And as they begin to fall in love, it is then his past begins to catch up with him that his name is not Kari, but is really Eyvind suspected of escaping from prison. Adapted from the play "Eyvind of the Hills" by Jóhann Sigurjónsson.

A silent Swedish film that is reminiscent of a serious love story that has a complicated situation, that can be used as a basis for movies that come after it.

Two very worthy hours, an excellent silent classic

[I_Ailurophile · 10/10 · 15 February 2023]

It always astounds how much variety there can be within a category that from the outside seems small and limited. Of all the many films made in the silent era, many of which have been sadly lost to the ravages of time or flame, there are distinct stylistic differences discernible in all matters of storytelling and film-making. In this title I recognize some facets that seem to bridge a divide: acting that lies somewhere in the middle between the exaggerated body language and facial expressions that followed from live theater, and the more natural, subtle comportment that became increasingly predominant heading into the sound era and beyond; sequencing, editing broadly, and scene writing that falls somewhere on the spectrum between the most rigid, stilted connecting of dots that characterized many early titles, with discrete divisions from beat to beat, and the more organic, smoothly flowing progression of events that better fostered and sustained suspension of disbelief. And so on, and so on. Having once said so of myself, I can understand why some folks have difficulty abiding the silent era, and this is perhaps unlikely to change any minds despite the forward steps it took in the medium. Still, for those who appreciate what early cinema has to offer, 'The outlaw and his wife' is a terrific surviving picture that well deserves remembrance and recognition.

In addition to the major questions of style, it's worth observing that the feature bears a story that is ultimately rather simple and straightforward. This is hardly a fault in and of itself, though hand in hand with that, there are times when the pacing seems to lag a bit, as though there isn't quite enough drama or accompanying weight in the beat to justify how some moments may linger or take their time to fully develop. Yet as with anything one may raise here as a matter to possibly reduce the total possible audience, these are not nearly so critical an issue as to severely detract from the viewing experience. On the contrary - while the feature bides its time to go where it wants to, it gathers strength as it progresses. And though this is an instance of a film that does feel as long as it is (just shy of two hours), it's well done all the while, and at length earns its enduring acclaim. There is, truly, much to admire in 'The outlaw and his wife,' from Julius Jaenzon's vivid, mindful cinematography to the magnificently, peerlessly beautiful landscapes (the latter mostly reserved for the second half). The production design is splendid, and filmmaker Victor Sjöström illustrates wonderfully smart, sharp direction to bring the tale together, not least as he emphatically makes use of the surrounding wilderness to weave the very land itself into the narrative, as though it were another character. To that point, some instances of his shot composition are especially keen.

While it doesn't seem as significant at the outset, it's safe to say that the acting is also gratifyingly strong throughout, not least from Sjöström himself, starring in the lead, and chief co-star Edith Erastoff. Once more, the performances seem to me to split the difference between those approaches that are, respectively, less and more nuanced, and certainly Sjöström and Erastoff do a fine job of commanding one's attention, especially in the second half where they are more pointedly centered. On that note, utmost commendations to the makeup artists whose contributions are increasingly important and noteworthy as the course of events draws on. And of course none of this would be possible without robust writing to propel the feature. As 'The outlaw and his wife' rolls into its second half the instances of lesser drama or lagging pace are easily forgotten, a thing of the past - and even if they weren't, the scene writing is stark and drearily vibrant all the while, conveying powerful images that are realized so deftly through Jaenzon's lens and Sjöström's vision. The characters carry concrete personality and complexity that are most welcome, and at its best even the dialogue is fiercely intelligent, suggesting commanding prose that is a treasure unto itself. Factor all this into a rich, deeply compelling narrative, one rife with themes of religious hypocrisy, the haughty cruelty of wealth, unjust laws and societies, the jealousies and darkness that hardship can bring to the surface, and above all the places that love can take us, and the end result is fabulously satisfying and rewarding as a viewer.

It bears repeating that for all the strength the picture carries, this is one that quite decidedly takes its time, allowing the saga to manifest, breathe, and resolve of its own accord. Sometimes that approach isn't always to the movie's advantage, for that matter, especially as it initially works to lay the groundwork for the plot to come. For those who are willing and able to stick with the production, however, and take everything exactly as and when it wants us to, the wait is very much worth it. When all is said and done there's no part of this that isn't tremendously well done, a real treat for any cinephile, and it's no wonder why it's been held in such regard for so many years. Patience is required on top of love for the silent era - but so long as the notion of such a deliberately paced film is no obstacle, 'The outlaw and his wife' remains highly, heartily recommended, a terrific piece that continues to stand tall more than one hundred years later. This is a classic that is well worth seeking out!

The Kino DVD: Only 70 min.

[sevisan · 2/10 · 29 August 2008]

Most silent films, damaged by the course of the time, exist in different versions with different running times, but when a DVD is released, is supposed to be in the most complete version existing (for instance, the Flicker Alley DVD of "La roue").

Well, this is not the case with the Kino "The outlaw and his wife". This is a very truncated version and shouldn't have been released in such conditions. Its running time is only 70 minutes, when nowadays exists a 105 min. version that I have seen in the Madrid Filmoteca and in the TV french channel Arte four or five years ago. Or is it a matter of wrong speed, 24 i.p.s instead of 16 i.p.s.?

The truncated Kino DVD version is, I suppose, the existing in the Kino shelves and released many years ago in VHS. That's very bad. (and the price of the DVD is 27 $ !).

Mountainous Melodrama

[thinbeach · 4/10 · 13 April 2017]

Set in Iceland, a widow falls in love with an outlaw who has come to work on her farm, and in order to escape the authorities, they run to the mountains. Here they hunt food in the sky and the rivers, have a child, meet an old friend, and for sixteen years apparently have a pretty swell time of it until a bad snowstorm hits.

Being a melodrama, its all fairly on the nose, and while it attempts to pull your heart strings, it mostly just jumps from plot point to plot point, meaning the sentiment does not connect. Still, there is a certain rugged romantic charm about living wild and free. I suspect also that on a clearer print the mountain scenery would be spectacular. Even on the lesser print I viewed it was quite spectacular, and for mine, the star of the show.

Are Swedes actually this f3kd up?

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 5/10 · 3 July 2017]

I assume this movie is highly regarded because Sjostrom directed it and so many other Swedish films from the silent era are lost. Because it's not gonna have many fans on its own merits.

It's a glorified melodrama with some weather effects thrown in. Big deal.

Also, if this actress is 30 (allegedly born 1887, filmed in 1917) I'll eat the canister this film ships in. She's 45 if she's a day.

**************SPOILER ALERT ********************

The authorities are closing in on you. Maybe you panic a bit. But I'll tell you what you don't do -- you don't throw a family member off the side of a mountain. That's not gonna help.