A Man There Was

For students of film, this is a must-see. Sjostrom proved to be highly influential in the development of Scandanavian and Northern European film. His output was prolific, but TERJE VIGEN is one of my favorites-- it captures well the angst and anxiety so pregnant among Scandanavian and Danish masters (Dreyer and Bergman come to mind as spiritual successors/contemporaries of Sjostrom). TERJE VIGEN, in particular, is one of those stories that will haunt but also reward. The cinematography is what one would expect of a film that is literally more than 100 years old-- innovative for its time, it is very subtle. Where this film really shines is in the phenomenal acting, especially by Sjostrom himself.

I've been wanting to see more Sjostrom, hoping for something on the level of PHANTOM CARRIAGE. Although this one has nothing but rave reviews on IMDb, it didn't grab me as much. A melodrama about a man driven mad by tragic misfortune and cruelty, but it's hard to feel too sorry for him because he really didn't have a very good plan. Maybe I'm being harsh, but despite a strong performance by Sjostrom I just wasn't emotionally invested enough to care that much about his troubles. However, technically it's very impressive for its time and features some stunning nautical cinematography and a haunting final image that serves as a strong counterpoint to the redemptive theme. You can also see Sjostrom's man vs. nature motif emerging, further developed in THE OUTLAW AND HIS WIFE and of course THE WIND.

Beautiful cinematography along the rugged Norwegian coastline and a powerful message of forgiveness are the highlights of this film from Victor Sjöström, which was a landmark in its day. It's Ibsen's story of a man who tries to get past a British blockade to feed his hungry wife and baby, but is caught and imprisoned for five years. By the time he gets home, they've perished. I went in unfamiliar with the story and thought it might be a Tarantino-like tale 1917-style, especially when the man comes across the British captain who showed him no mercy and has a chance for vengeance. It's such a touching thing that he doesn't do so given the depths to which mankind was sinking in WWI at the time.

Channeling Christ really gives an extra meaning to the backlit crosses we see in the cemetery in one of the film's beautiful shots. Another that stands out in my mind is the old man sitting and staring out at the sunset over the water, and there is real depth of feeling throughout the film. The only reason for the slightly lower review score was the overall pace, which I found slow for such a simple story, with the exception of the scenes of tension. Sjöström immerses us so well into this world we can practically taste the sea salt and I love him for it, I just wish there had been a little meat on the bones of this story. On another night my score may have been higher, and this is worth seeing though.

If this movie had been made in 1923, I'd have been more blasé, but for 1916 it's nothing short of miraculous.

The open-air filming is smooth and well-executed. The emotional rawness is hit hard but never gets overheated. The acting is intense but does not stray into laughable "stagger-and-clutch." Dutiful fidelity to Ibsen's poem may cramp the subtitles, but never interferes with masterful story-telling in the film itself.

There is one sequence, in which a launch from a British warship destroys a fisherman's rowboat and then attempts to hunt down the fisherman while he's swimming for his life underwater, that is an absolute classic that will live in your memory.

This film is short, but very powerful, and worth going the extra mile to see.

A Man There Was tells the story of Terge Vigen, a Swedish seaman played by director Victor Sjöström who plucks up the courage to take on the British Empire's naval blockade of trade routes which in turn is slowly starving out his small village, wife and child. Set mostly amid the chaotic northern sea and coastlines, Sjöström creates a wonderfully moody and sombre atmosphere throughout filled with strife and tension, an impressive and fitting soundtrack (on the 2008 DVD version), distilled by beautiful intertitles taken from a Henrik Ibsen poem. Although it has its moments and overall is an enjoyable feature, its short runtime, sometimes plodding pacing and lack of significant plotting stop the movie from ever truly taking off beyond being a mere mood piece.