Synopsis
Remarkable for its three leads (the director of
Haxan and the barely recognisable future stars of
Lifeboat and
La Règle du Jeu) and its near-explicit treatment of homosexual desire, this account of a love triangle (a painter, his muse/adopted son and a Russian princess) finds
Dreyer using the claustrophobic, ornate interiors of the artist's home to Expressionist effect. With its array of ambiguous yet revealing looks and gestures, the film – shot by the dream-team of
Karl Freund and
Rudolph Maté – offers an unflinching but deeply humane look at blind passion and cool betrayal.