Age doesn't matter; a good movie is a good movie, and the best will begin to make strong impressions in no time at all. To date I've seen only a handful of the films of Swedish icon Victor Sjöström, but each has been perfect and two readily inspire as being among the very best pictures ever made. 'Eld ombord,' sometimes translated as 'Fire on board' or alternatively known as 'The hell ship,' may not be one of the man's most widely known works, but it very quickly starts to illustrate its strength before even fifteen minutes have passed. Sjöström's direction - his orchestration of shots and scenes, and his guidance of his cast - is shrewd and mindful, both artistic and heartfelt, and communicating thoughts and feelings beyond the mere essence of the narrative on hand. From one to the next the actors reliably demonstrate outstanding skills, terrific nuance and personality that is conveyed with total fidelity without any need for spoken dialogue or sound. Sjöström himself was a highly accomplished performer, and hows it again her, but his collaborators including Jenny Hasselqvist, Matheson Lang, Maria Di Zazzo, and Thecla Ahlander, among others are just as immediately admirable in what they bring to the feature.
Speaking of collaborators, Sjöström's frequent flyer cinematographer Julius Jaenzon again makes his mark in this 1923 movie. Working hand in hand with his professional partner, Jaenzon shoots with a deft precision that at once feels meticulously calculated and fiercely natural - a component as integral to the specifics of the storytelling as the words written on a page, and the acting that brings them to life. Jaenzon's perspective is the pair of eyes with which we witness the course of events, and his vision is ever so keen. Notably, all this holds true as the story distinctly takes its time to build; the screenplay whipped up between Sjöström and Hjalmar Bergman is particularly measured in building its story, letting every piece fall into place bit by bit before the heaviest notes of drama ring out. Perhaps this isn't so different after all from other films, yet the construction feels especially observable here. In any event, no matter how one perceives it, there's no mistaking that the writing is sharp and compelling, with uneasy character relationships, intertitles that are pointedly charged as they relate both dialogue and exposition, and scene writing that from one moment to the next doles out delicious fragments of smart, tactful weight - sometimes unexpectedly impactful in the smallest of ways, which makes the most ponderous beats all the greater because of it.
Swiftly gratifying, superbly acted, directed, photographed, and written - 'Eld ombord' may be a tad more purposefully deliberate in its storytelling, and less instantly grabbing, but I don't think there's any doubting that it's splendidly well made. Ultimately I think this is just as just as rich and exquisite a film as any Sjöström gave us, and it simply bides its time in cementing its excellence. In the meanwhile, those operating behind the scenes likewise turn in tremendous work in realizing the project. The production design and art direction are exceptional, making every setting to greet us vividly, tangibly real. While dreary city streets and a vessel upon the seas don't carry quite the same force of character as other settings in the filmmaker's oeuvre (vast wilderness, the open ocean, tempestuous winds), nonetheless both bear a poetic intelligence to them that fabulously enriches the viewing experience as we consider just what these "ordinary" settings mean for the tale being told. Even at that, the costume design and hair and makeup are also just swell. Stunts, effects, and any moments of greater action are utterly fantastic, quite believable in their own right. And as if anything here were less than stellar, the film editing comes across as extra adept, shaping the feature into its best possible form with supreme judiciousness.
If I have any criticism to impart, any at all, it's that the handful of intertitles which nominally divide the proceedings into discrete "parts" are completely unnecessary, frankly seeming rather arbitrary for how fluidly the length progresses anyway. But that's it - that's the only possible imperfection I can discern. And if that's the worst thing I have to say about the movie, then it's done very well for itself. And so it has: impressing to some degree right off the bat, as these 100 minutes advance they prove themselves to be as outstandingly entertaining, absorbing, satisfying, and altogether fulfilling as any feature could ever hope to be. In every capacity 'Eld ombord' is just plain flawless: writing, direction, acting, every last contribution from behind the scenes. It's flush from top to bottom with heartfelt earnestness, and crafted with utmost care and passion. To be frank, it's the type of picture that's so well done that I think it would earn a recommendation even for those modern viewers who have a harder time engaging with the silent era. However one must go about watching it, as far as I'm concerned this is an absolute must-see, a classic that stands as tall as any of its most highly-lauded contemporaries and a brilliant testament to the skills of all involved.
