With the 1921 'Scherben', director Lupu Pick made the first Kammerspielfilm - chamber film - a film in which a small ensemble of actors acts in a confined space. 'Scherben' made do with one intertitle. Three years later, 'Sylvester' - a film in the same genre - dispensed with them altogether.
It is one hour before midnight on New Year's Eve. In a town, the upcoming New Year's Eve is being celebrated in a lively atmosphere. We see hustle and bustle on the streets, in the ballroom of a fashionable hotel and in a pub. In the back room of the pub, the landlord's (Eugen Klöpfer) wife (Edith Posca) prepares the food and looks after her baby. The landlord's old mother (Frida Richard) appears at the door. It soon becomes clear that the two women do not get on well.
They briefly keep their mutual contempt in check for the sake of the landlord, but then it erupts with full force. The mother does not forgive the wife for taking her son away from her. The young woman asks her husband to throw his mother out. He does not. Now she wants to leave herself. He holds her back. A veritable tug-of-war ensues for the favour of the landlord, who is obviously overwhelmed.
As in 'Scherben', we witness a petty bourgeois tragedy that would normally remain hidden from us. In the earlier film, the events take place in a remote railway keeper's cottage in the deep snow, whereas in 'Sylvester' only thin walls separate the boisterous revellers from the tragic events. Monstrous things happen in our midst, but our lives go on unaffected.
This is emphasised by the parallel montage of New Year's Eve celebrations on the street, in the ballroom and in the pub with the events in the back room, that runs through the film. The universality of this statement is also attested to in 'Sylvester' by repeated shots of ocean waves that crash against the shore as a symbol of eternity in contrast to fleeting human events.
These stylistic devices are certainly not subtle, but they are ennobled by the masterful camerawork in the exterior shots (Guido Seeber), the magnificent buildings (Klaus Richter) and the performance of the main actors. The performance of Edith Posca, the director's wife who already played the female lead in 'Scherben', deserves special mention.
'Sylvester' is in the tradition of 19th century bourgeois realism with its often pessimistic view of human affairs within the confines of convention. However, the contrast between the tragic events and the exuberant celebrations allows the audience to decide for themselves whether the glass is half full or half empty.
