At the turn of the century, there were terrorists with bombs, a magic called electricity and of course, there was love, represented by twin sisters born - one a courtesan, the other a political feminist. It was a time when everything was black and white. This movie does what movies are supposed to do - to make you dream and think and feel about our experiences on earth. Like great dreams, you may not fully understand them, until you reflect and see it again.
First time I saw this at the SF Film Fest was a 1989 preview. Ten minutes into it the projector shut down. "We apologize, but we started with the second reel first. We don't have enough time to show it now, but check back for a reschedule." Talk about feeling confused and having low expectations with other films to see, for some reason I came back; I suppose to get my money's worth. Maybe it put the hook in me. So it opens with a dreamlike child's instrument playing, and stock footage of a circus entertainer putting his head in a canon, holding a torch to the fuse - all playing in reverse cycles. The film challenges you deceptively with old film tricks, but they are well thought out. A modern director would plod epic beginning - Edison's first public display of electric light. Enyedi as light as a snowflake directs us to the first magnificent scene set at night. People in period 1880's clothing see light bulbs for the first time. Playing Stars and Stripes, a band marches forward, mostly Negroes lit up, powered by a following horse-drawn cart holding Edison's sinister sounding generator. Electricity! With creative liberties, the director swiftly takes us from New Jersey to Hungary, where twins are born to sell matches in the night snow only to be driven away by a constable. They huddle to strike a flame; curious, innocent faces are brightened. Matches!
The director uses the spark of these twins as two different female natures to advance us into the birth of the twentieth century. A must see for anyone who values cinema.
