If there is one thing I've learned in all my years of being a connoisseur of films, it's to never trust a European silent film.

Many people mock films of the silent era for their overly dramatized pantomime. La Terre, according to the introduction on TCM by Robert Osborne, was the first film to be told using the naturalist style of filmmaking as the characters act as though it is their daily lives they are living.

Père Fouan is an old man and as his body fails him, he decides to divide his land amongst his three sons. In return for this early inheritance the local magistrate orders the sons to each pay him a pension so that he may live out the rest of his days in peace and leisure. Sadly, such was not to be the case. As soon as he is on his own his family implodes upon itself. Things are made even more difficult when Père's wife dies. He must then sell his house and keeps the money on him always not trusting any of his children.

This film is depressing and yet I would still recommend it to those who want to be serious students of silent film. If you're looking for something lighthearted, stick to Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd.

Labels: 31 days of film, Silent Films