Cinema's venerable roots, part 1

Without the silent movies, cinema wouldn't have been as we know it today. Indeed, the art of filmmaking has gone a long, long way since the Lumière brothers' factory workers (and other silent shorts), by way of the cinématographe, were first shown to the public in the late 19th century. Most of our classic and contemporary filmmakers owe a great deal of debt to the cinematic outputs of the golden era of the silent cinema. It's quite hard to think of film history without going back to these venerable roots. It's for this reason that the International Silent Film Festival, now on its 8th year, is always something to look forward to. The viewing experience is made all the more unique as each film comes with a live musical accompaniment from performers (band, orchestra or solo act) specializing in certain musical genres. The silent film entries this year come from their respective countries of USA, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Spain and the Philippines. With the exception of France (who is only returning this year), all the said countries have always been a part of the annual film event. 

Let's take a look now at the films:

• "One A.M." (1916, 34 mins) and "The Pawnshop" (1916, 20 mins) by Charlie Chaplin (USA)

There could be no better way to kick off the festival than by showing films by the silent era's most enduring and well-loved icon - Charles "Charlie" Chaplin. The comic auteur made a number of well-known and highly-acclaimed comedy classics, but for this edition of the fest, two of his rarely-seen early short films, made for the Mutual Film Corporation (who gave the filmmaker full creative control over the projects), were shown - "One A.M." and "The Pawnshop". The first is that one-of-a-kind film wherein The Tramp does a complete solo act (if we are not to count that brief opening sequence in which he is shown with a cab driver), having only as his "co-actors" those "malevolent props". While the second gives us an early peek into the narrative device which the filmmaker would fully utilize in his subsequent feature works - the use of material objects to create a sight gag. There's a dash of irony in these shorts though, as Chaplin is not exactly that lovable tramp in them - he's a clumsy drunk in the former and a mischievous provocateur in the latter. But didn't we just say that he had full creative freedom in these films? Still, even in these short works, we can already see the incomparable genius that he was when it comes to slapstick comedy and sight gags. Watching these films about almost a hundred years after they were first released, one couldn't help but feel both a wonderful and poignant nostalgia as Chaplin displays his comic art on the big screen once again for the present generation of film audience to cherish. 

• "Destiny" by Fritz Lang (1921, 105 mins, Germany) 

Fritz Lang is one filmmaker who was certainly ahead of his time, as he had unforgettably displayed in such masterworks as "Metropolis", "Die Niebelungen" and "M". "Destiny", however, as noted by Pierre Oser, the master conductor of The Manila Composers' Lab which provided the musical accompaniment for the film, was a "product of its time". That is to say, the silent film was made on the heels of the First World War, when the prevalent mood in Germany, suffering the backlash of defeat and destruction, was tinged with images of death. The literal translation of the film's German title is in fact "Weary Death" and, as it is, it serves as the film's main subject and as one of its main characters. The stark power of the film's subject is truly overpowering, so much so that not even the courageous and indefatigable love shown by the heroine for her fallen fiancé can outshine it. And in telling his grim tale, Lang prodigiously displays the master filmmaker that he is, given the considerably limited and crude resources during the time, as the film is rich in telling special effects and ingeniously uses a "frame tale" as a foundation for three more allegorical "stories of the light" (each set in a specific country and evoking a certain kind of mood) that would further illustrate the prevailing theme. "Destiny" is truly a must-watch for cinematic junkies. After seeing the film, I am now craving all the more for Lang filmography. 

• "Verdun, Visions of History" by Léon Poirier (1928, 150 mins, France) 

Last year, it was Japan's noirish "The Policeman". This year, it is France's epic "Verdun". That is to say, it could just be a film that happens to have no sound, rather than being a silent film in the strict sense of the term. Its "actors" do not exactly exhibit those acting styles distinct to silent movies and it has the look and feel of a historical documentary or of those old war footages that are being shown on History channel. The matter shouldn't be really surprising, as it's all but attendant to the director's primary agenda - that of revisiting an important chapter in France's World War I history, for purposes of bestowing honor upon the besieged countryside towns (which primarily include the one in the title) and their fallen or embattled heroes. In fact, to lend the film an authentic feel, Poirier casted real soldiers who participated in the battles, used the actual towns and battlefields as locations and even inserted real footages that show the warfights and a number of key historical personalities. It's something that anticipated the cinema verité-style of filmmaking. With its epic length (divided into three "visions" of Force, Hell and Fate), the film may feel a bit heavy-going at several points (the sluggish first few minutes, in particular, may already test the viewers' patience), especially as it appears to strictly abide by the rules of historical fact narration. But those who are willing to stick to it all throughout may find that "Verdun" has some surprising rewards in store for them:the film has a number of startling and gritty war images ever committed onscreen and utilizes in a number of instances inventive "visual aids" to illustrate some facts and figures about the war. Aiding immensely in the viewing experience is the excellent solo piano act by Hakim Benchouala-Golobitch, setting a melancholic tone all throughout, appropriate to the film's timeless message that in war, there are no real winners but everybody just gets nothing in the end. 

(Charlie Chaplin:A well-loved comic auteur of cinema's silent era.)