Customer Reviews

Erotikon: A Daring Fable of Modern Love

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A professor has a bit of an infatuation with his niece; the professor's wife, a cosmopolitan lady of leisure, takes up with a flashy aviator, mainly, it seems, to torment a sculptor who loves her; turn up the heat, stir, and wait for the boil...

The DVD release's jacket does a mild disservice to Mauritz Stiller's Erotikon (1920) by stating that its slyly sardonic approach to sexual intrigue inspired Ernst Lubitsch. The expectation is thus set that Erotikon will have an effervescent comic pace and a constantly winking eye like a Lubitsch film of the 30s-- and that is not the case.

A better touchstone for the film is The Rules of the Game (not least because an aviator plays so prominent a role), a movie which observes, with the sad empathy of a veteran priest with many Saturdays spent listening to confession behind him, the desperate efforts of a group of humans to chase after happiness-- only to make things worse in most cases. Erotikon begins with a fussy middle-aged professor lecturing on bigamous beetles (oddly anticipating the recent movie biography of Dr. Kinsey), and takes a consciously scientific detachment toward its characters as they scurry about, trying to keep mortality at bay by finding some form of erotic excitement in lives which are a bit too settled, under-occupied and, it appears, sexually frustrated. A comedy, yes, and even one that wraps up in high spirits, and yet a comedy that's touched throughout by melancholy, and played with a sort of gravity and a deliberate pace that gives us time to feel the hurt under the surface.

Or so it seemed to me when I watched it tonight. Then I watched the "intro" by the film scholar Peter Cowie, and learned that Erotikon is quite the opposite. Unlike Smiles of a Summer Night, another obvious comparison, Erotikon's comedy does not have a moralistic melancholy undertone, says Cowie. What struck me as gravity, like Preston Sturges slowed down to Douglas Sirk if not Carl Dreyer, strikes Cowie as "frothy."

How to account for the fact that Cowie sees a completely different Erotikon than I do? Well, for one thing, I suppose he has far more experience of Scandinavian cinema on which to build his preconceptions; next to a diet of Sjostrom, Bergman, Strindberg and Hamsun, Erotikon IS frothy, I'm sure. And I doubt he had seen it, the first few times at least, with the particular score on this DVD, a Celtic dirge that seems to belong to a production of "The Death of Cuchulain" more than it does to a 1920s drawing room comedy; it certainly puts the film in a dourer key than a conventional romantic comedy score would have. (Maybe I'll try watching it again with something peppier, and see if it's a different movie.)

Adding to the uncertainty of tone is the fact that the film contains a wide variety of acting styles. Tora Teje (as the socialite wife) and Lars Hanson (as the sculptor) are highly effective in a theatrical, heightened-naturalism sort of way, while Anders de Wahl as the husband and especially Torsten Hammaren as an aged professor are caricatures of woolly-headed academia. It's a bit like Deborah Kerr in Bonjour Tristesse being married to Fred MacMurray in The Absent-Minded Professor.

Despite this mismatch-- perhaps to be expected in such a trailblazing comedy with no apparent models to follow, other than its stage original-- Erotikon is a striking and interesting film, one of the few silents that seems to leap out of the period, untouched by the customary moralizing Victorian preconceptions of what is proper behavior for its characters (and proper punishment for those who violate it). Erotikon simply observes what these creatures do naturally; applying morals to them would be self-delusion, and Erotikon is a movie largely free of illusions.

Sweden has long been regarded as being a progressive, sophisticated nation with open-minded people, and these three latest releases by Kino Video featuring Swedish silent films directed by Mauritz Stiller (best remembered for `discovering' Greta Garbo) show that the Swedes had style and sophistication already in the late 1910s. Stiller directed a variety of films from epics (The Saga of Gosta Berling) to historic dramas (Sir Arne's Treasure) and this one, labelled as a daring comedy for 1920. The `daring' element is the bored high society wife who flirts with not one, but two men until she gets the one she wants. The humorous element seems to be that her husband is glad to be rid of her because he has another love interest as well. In fact, I hesitate to call "Erotikon" a comedy per se but rather a light tongue in cheek melodrama. There is nothing much more to the plot, and at times it might even feel quite shallow and slow-moving, but good acting, some interesting characters and an overall smooth style with good photography make up for what the story might be lacking. But to appreciate "Erotikon" more fully, one has to keep it in the context of its time, and compared to other films of 1920, it does stand out for its more developed scenes and the overall smoothness and style, not to mention the theme itself: women of 1920 unashamedly indulging in their heart's desire. Actress Tora Teje plays the main role superbly, I might add, and supporting roles are also well done. Other filmmakers and directors were inspired by Mauritz Stiller's style, and one that quickly comes to mind is Ernst Lubitsch, and his 1924 film "The Marriage Circle" could well have been directly inspired by "Erotikon". To add to the distinct Swedish style of silent film, "Erotikon" has a somewhat unusual and non-traditional orchestral musical score which might take a little getting used to for some. There is also a nice little bonus feature introducing the films of Mauritz Stiller, which serves as a good introduction to Swedish silent films. While not my favourite Swedish or Mauritz Stiller film, "Erotikon" has many fine features which might appeal especially to fans of Ernst Lubitsch's style and similar, as well as simply giving us a good taste of early Swedish cinema.

EROTIKON's interesting enough to appeal, not just to specialists in silent cinema, but literate and curious film buffs of all stripes. Fascinating cast, nicely restored print, with witty title cards complementing piquant situations. My one caveat -- and it's a big one -- is the score accompanying this Kino release. Have these composers ever seen a comedy? Heard Rota, Rossini, Mozart, Strauss? While not uninteresting musically, the soundtrack seems to have strayed in from another, far darker picture. There's been a plague of this lugubrious problem accompanying silent restorations on DVD recently; on the other hand, the Lon Chaney package produced by TCM features a couple of newly-commissioned scores that are exemplary in their approach, with imaginative orchestrations that reinforce, rather than do battle with, the action onscreen. Would that more composers followed their lead!

Erotikon immediately reminded me of something I thought about when I saw Hindle's Wake, an important point that's worth looking into for social theorists and art history types: even in the 20s, feminist narratives were recognized and crafted with respect and open-mindedness. Although the norm to this very day still remains a male-centric viewpoint in cinema, Erotikon points to an open-mindedness even forty years before the titled Feminist Movement towards equality and self-ownership.

Part of it has to deal with the more modernist Industrial stylings of this movie. It's a mostly upper-class comedy of manners where science and zoology help provide the seed of the idea that nature doesn't require a monogamous relationship helps provide in one woman the incentive to pursue a lover despite her marriage. But also it's a recognition of, basically, dating, the ability to decide individually who you want to be with without absolutes in love suturing two souls together.

Hindle Wakes is a much more poetic, sensual allegory towards the matter. Erotikon is mostly a gorgeous pastiche of sets, character, and costume design. Hindle Wakes is a melodrama, whereas Erotikon is much more like a glamorous romantic comedy... in a way, Erotikon is the Sex and the City of the 1920s, if you'll forgive me my dated reference to a recent publicized movie in comparison to a lesser known Euro-art classic.

It should also be noted that the KINO release of this movie on DVD comes with a fantastic score that really helps the experience. This is a good movie for fans of silent era cinema, but unfortunately it isn't exactly a well-known classic and it doesn't really have a huge audience, even for fans of foreign and classic films, so it might be a little difficult to find. I can't say it's worth a huge search, because there have definitely been better (and worse) silent movies out there. But it is a decently entertaining, quite beautiful movie in its own right.

--PolarisDiB

Nice entertaining film, the DVD image looks beautiful. The string ensemble score seems to drone on continuously in unchanging dreariness. Turn the sound down and put something else in your player.

To be absolutely objective Erich von Stroheim was a true pioneer in the cruelty cinema according a smart reference of Andre Bazin, because while Griffith was flying light years above his contemporaries, Charlot was raising as a promising talent and the German expressionism initiated its majestic artistic flight (Robert Wiene had made The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in 1919), this formidable Swedish director astonished the world with this erotic fable filled of incisive lexicon and sharp proposals.

Erotikon is a masterpiece and a very hidden treasure for most of hard fans of cinema. In 1920, this talented director experienced with notable game of lights , a strong script following the traces of Erik von Stroheim, in this fable of entanglements, double side proposals, funny situations and a formidable stage in a theater with a story that has to do with the script by itself.

A very mature film taking into account the historical m0oment in which was made, a first rate cast and a fine direction of this Swedish director make me to admit this is one of these unforgettable classics to be included in the reduced list of the greatest silent movies ever filmed.

After having recently seen The Temptress, I decided to get one of Mauritz Stiller's movies, and - after reading these [...]. I'm not going to go into any detail re: plot, moralizing, etc. - the other reviewers, here, delve into this quite nicely (and I couldn't agree more with them). What I will say is that this movie surprised me - twice...

I sat down w. my partner, and put this movie on. We both love silent movies, and have seen quite a number of them. What surprised me the most was that we were unable to sit through it in one viewing. After 77 minutes, we were both falling asleep - so we turned it off, to finish watching it the next night. This first attempt at watching the film, we both could not get over how slow moving the movie was... We sat there, hearing ourselves saying things like "Oh my god... isn't anything going to happen?" or "Why does it have to take so long to get this across?"

OK. That was the first surprise. Moving on to the 2nd night...

The next night we finished watching the movie - and our comments then were "Well, that wasn't so bad - but I don't care to ever see it again", etc. After we'd both had time to think about the film, things changed a bit...

My 2nd surprise with this movie is that I ultimately liked it - and think I'll be watching it again, at some point in time.

You DO have to keep in mind WHEN this movie was made - 1920 - and, for 1920, this movie is WAY above the usual acting syle(s) of the period. The acting here is remarkably good - Lars Hanson & Tora Teje were the two standouts, for me, with both providing many, many "modern" expressions, gestures - without going "melodramatic" on me. Some very "wise" acting going on - acting that seemed very aware of what the camara was able to capture. VERY unusual for this time period. (By 1928, this wouldn't have surprised me so much - but for 1920? Very impressive.)

I was also VERY surprised (and pleased!) that the men were not "painted up" like cupie dolls. Lars Hanson was allowed to be handsome - and masculine. (I'm sure he most likely was wearing make-up, but he looked "human" - unlike a lot of leading men, back then.)

Erotikon is supposed to be a comedy. I sure didn't think it was funny, watching it, but my partner & I will now mention a moment/scene from the movie and both of us will start laughing. So, maybe it IS a comedy after all. (If so, it is a SUBTLE comedy... definitely no slapstick - which is fine with me.)

The WORST part of the movie (and basically the only inexcusable one) is the performance by the actor playing an old professor. I'm sure he was meant to be funny - but his performance has not aged well, and in fact brings the movie down, whenever he's onscreen.

Camera work is basically pretty exceptional. You actually forget that this silent movie is so EARLY in silent movie history, until you focus in on the absence of "fade-in's" (& "fade-out's), "cross-fades", etc. Instead of these, you get the early-silent movie technique of "telescoping" (can't think of the right word for this) - where the new scene will start with a black screen, and the picture opens up from a small circle in the middle of the screen... (you know what I mean)...

Costumes were fantastic. Acting was very, VERY sophisticated for the time. Story was so-so, but (as the other postings say) there was no "preaching" going on - which made the story at least sort of "refreshing."

DVD is exceptional quality. The score is a bit unusual - but okay (better than a solo piano, in my book...), with sound quality being very good. The DVD extras are also nice/informative.

Yeah. Surprisingly good movie - for 1920 - and I honestly DO recommend it, for silent film buffs who are able to keep this in perspective.

EXCELLENT SPOOF ON A LOVE TRIANGLE. VERY FUNNY WITH CLEAR MOMENTS OF REALITY. I ENJOYED IT!!!