The Divine Voyage

Yes indeed, if director Julien Duvivier is known for his masterpieces from the thirties to the fifties, his silent period is to be discovered as his cinematographic style was yet very tough. Duvivier was around 33 when he directed this magnificent and visual tale in Brittany (in Paimpol and Loguivy-de-la-mer).

A despotic rich owner of a damaged ship sends his crew with alcohol. The ship sinks and the owner's daughter who's in love with the captain travel on ship to find the crew and her captain.

The entire movie has an inventive visual style, with lot of close ups edited vividly. It's really impressive from beginning to end, and the print is nice and easily available.

Yes, Julien Duvivier was a great French director, one of the best.