Director Sjostrom has painted a morbid picture of life in Europe's slums, using surrealist imagery and plain old sentimentality to tell his story of a consumptive bum (Sjostrom himself) who travels Europe seeking his deserter wife, but who seeks truly only his own demons and death. Interesting narrative structure allows for no suspense, but plenty of overlapping imagery.
Not going to light a fire in too many modern movie lovers' hearts, but this one was influential and still packs a pretty heavy punch, especially when you see Sjostrom willingly inflicting his illness on others, including his own children. Must-see for fans of Bergman and later Swedish masters.
Not going to light a fire in too many modern movie lovers' hearts, but this one was influential and still packs a pretty heavy punch, especially when you see Sjostrom willingly inflicting his illness on others, including his own children. Must-see for fans of Bergman and later Swedish masters.