Victor Sjöström stars in his own The Outlaw and His Wife– a tale of “ill fate” told over seven chapters. It is set in 19th century Iceland— and based on a true story about a man (played by Sjöström) who can’t escape his past.
Benefits from a 2015 restoration
Unlike A Man There Was (1917) there are just pages and pages of dialogue here— Sjöström does not need this crutch. Sjöström is certainly capable as a director and could tell these sections of the dialogue in pictures. Also, he is also skilled enough actor, as is Edith Erastoff, who plays Halla the Widow. Of course- just having actors converse without much going on cinematically is bad enough during the sound era—but in the silent era it is even worse naturally since when the dialogue is on screen, there’s no acting because they are simply written cards… the audience is just reading- one dimensional cinema.
Chapter three is a flashback. The flashback structure would play an even more crucial role in Sjöström’s 1921 film, The Phantom Carriage. There is a nice, green-tinted slow iris transition to the flashback where, now, a clean-shaved Sjöström sits.
Sjöström’s The Outlaw and His Wife, like A Man There Was, is interested in nature—it is the main reason this is stronger than just a recommend- he uses exteriors wonderfully. There’s a blizzard opening and close and a few chapters are set in the mountains. There are some stylistically quiet stretches (far more than A Man There Was) but there is still a high percentage of the running time where he clearly cares as much about the backdrop/background as he does the story unraveling in the foreground.
The priest is a villain—along with man’s own tortured self.
There’s an intellect and darkness in these fables that are largely absent in DeMIlle’s work (who is a contemporary of Sjöström’s—and someone who also told moral parables).
At the 50-minute mark there is a frame with the plains and hot springs and there’s a river in the background making for a splendid cinematic painting.
Apparently, he was only 5’11—but Sjöström looks like a physically imposing figure here- you have to giggle a little at him dwarfing the ponies they’re sitting on.
The film is elemental, a parable, and with chapter breaks-these are Sjöström’s traits as an auteur. The chapters do not really mean much here to signify changes in the story. These breaks are just mirroring the layout of a novel.
In each of Sjöström’s films there seems to be a paradise or Eden moment. Here it is brief-as it quickly turns into the Arnes character coveting his neighbor’s wife as she washes clothes. All of this in front of those magnificent vistas.
There’s a rock face rescue that is thrilling… a waterfall. The reoccurring shot of the fateful cliff three times.
A nice montage as the couple relives their best moments falling in love via flashback— and then the tinting changes and the dream is over.
The harsh elements back again in the gloomy ending
Highly Recommend – top 10 of the year quality film
Leave A Comment