Singoalla

I blush to disclose that I have not read Viktor Rydberg's romantic fairytale 'The Wind is my Lover' but I am very pleased to have stumbled across this fabulous version by the successful directing/writing team of Christian-Jaque and Pierre Very. Filmed in Swedish, French and English it chronicles the relationship between gypsy girl Singoalla and melancholy Sir Erland Maneskold which is doomed from the outset by the difference in their social status, a rival's jealousy and the curse of the Maneskold Treasure. Courtesy of cinematographer Christian Matras and production designer Robert Gys this has a wonderfully Gothic feel. One cannot but sense that in the character of the mentally fragile Sir Erland who inhabits the eerie Castle of Widows there is more than a passing nod to Edgar Allan Poe, particularly 'Fall of the House of Usher.' Swedish composer Hugo Alfven wrote in a lush late-Romantic style and his score for this suits perfectly. The acting from all is uniformly excellent. Singoalla is played by the striking and intelligent Viveca Lindfors who appears in all three versions whilst Michel Auclair is mesmerising in the difficult role of Sir Erland. Marta Dorff is effective as his mother as is Louis Seigneur as the priest. There is a touching performance by Jean-Georges Chambort as the son who tries to bring his parents together. The precious few reviews for this haunting film are all positive and justifiably so.