Hidden Flick: The Mountains In The Mind
In the end, it is not our minds that fail us, but our hearts.
Indeed. The resolve to hold onto one’s convictions can be a very tricky thing. Once faced with death, one is apt to just give up, and run towards safety. After all, isn’t life itself preferable to certain dissolution? But what if one has had a vision? Ahh…tricky, yes. This little Flick ditty is dedicated to those who must do something, never expecting to get paid, or rewarded in any way, but doing it because they have to, they must, they need to fulfill some sort of higher purpose—indeed, the resolve to hold onto one’s convictions.
In Carl Theodor Dreyer, the cinema gained not only an original visual eye, but one gained a sometimes rather surreal look at what drove motivations, what kept focus, what swelled the heart of the beast within. Floating away, skin is temporary, but the soul shows the true power, does it not? Or, is that an illusion, too? Idea to material mist to oblivion?
Dreyer’s greatest treat for the mind’s eye may have been Vampyr with its otherworldly imagery and performances, but nothing can quite compare to his tour de force, which is rightfully heralded as one of the outstanding works of the silent film era. Released in 1928, it was almost lost to the hourglass of the modern age, but has avoided complete obscurity. The film also contains the hidden secret for all truth-seeking thespians—an ethereal and beautiful performance comes from within; specifically, the eyes.
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