Evangelina

It's quite amazing to me that EVANGELINE isn't more well known, particularly among silent film enthusiasts. What struck me most when watching this movie for the first time were the incredibly spellbinding close-up shots of Evangeline (DOLORES DEL RIO) as she was swept away with the most innocent feelings of pure love in her encounters with her beloved, Gabriel (ROLAND DREW). Her eyes flutter with excitement and anticipation of the happiness to be for her and Gabriel. This dreamy and romantic beginning quickly becomes only a memory for the two when they are separated by the war between the British and the French. Evangeline then endlessly wanders the states in her quest to reunite with her lost love. The cinematography is unforgettable in a number of different shots, particularly of Del Rio and the separation scenes. The use of the selected color tints are also highly effective as each color conveys the mood of the different sequences. Del Rio delivers a truly angelic performance that, in my opinion, wouldn't have been as effective if this movie had been in sound. I do not believe that EVANGELINE would have worked so well as a talkie. We are quite lucky that the film wasn't re-shot as a talkie to suit the new excitement of the sound era, which was already upon the world of cinema in the year of its release (1929), for the images that you experience is pure gold.