Friday, June 7, 2013

Whirlpool of Fate (1925)

Directed by Jean Renoir
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Lionsgate)

Renoir's first film as solo director is the story of a poor woman nearly raped by her uncle one day on their boat. She runs away and takes up with some friendly gypsies, only to fall victim to a mob who sets fire to their caravan. On the run again, she ends up destitute and living as a wild woman in the woods until a local boy brings her food and eventually love. Renoir incorporates fast cuts, extreme close-ups, slow motion and other effects utilized by the French Impressionists of the 1920s, especially in a long, feverish dream sequence. However, these effects call too much attention to themselves rather than the story, which itself is episodic.

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