L’INHUMAINE (1924)
(a.k.a. THE INHUMAN WOMAN)
Article #482 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 7-10-2002
Posting date: 12-3-2002

An opera singer mocks a scientist who is obsessed with her, and he commits suicide, which is considered a scandal. However, everything is not quite what it seems…

This silent movie has a running length of a little more than two hours, and this is a fairly long time to watch a movie in which all the title cards are in a different language. Fortunately, the movie is a fascinating visual feast that keeps you watching even when you don’t quite know what’s going on, though I would love to see an English version some time to sort out the details. Fans of fantastic cinema may need to be patient; the movie clearly veers into science fiction before the end is reached, but not until the second half of the movie, and to say more would give away some truly unexpected plot twists. This is definitely one of the more intrguing movies I’ve seen of the ones for which I need a translation; I suspect this one may be a real classic. Further research is necessary.