This is the first of the two movies directed by highly talented actor Charles Vanel,and by a wide margin the best ,"Affaires Classées" ,his sophomore effort being a muddled affair .
Made at the end of the silent era ,with subtitles kept to the minimum (I've rarely seen a silent movie so "silent" ,so to speak;these subtitles are actually closer to speech bubbles in comics .
The first part depicts in parallel a wedding and the miners' work.;it's nice to watch but needless to say,it's the second part which sustains the movie ,beating Feuillade at his own game.Without any special effects ,years and years before "Les Yeux Sans Visages" " Seconds " , "Abre Los Ojos " (not to mention its remake " Vanilla Sky") or ,as Writer's Reign smartly hints at it,"Face/ Off" ,Vanel creates a disturbing frightening atmosphere with two masked men ,one of whom was disfigured after an accident;And the final unexpected twist ,at a time when they were not that common,packs a real wallop.
