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    The Wind

    Reviewed by
    pietroantoni@

    Lilian Gish's last silent film at MGM was a western in which wind and sand storms were of utmost importance not only creating the ambiance desired but in causing a certain amount of madness due to the never ending harsh, unspeakable elements, not to speak of the unbearable tension in a particular household. Gish and her leading man Lars Halstrom are perfection. The western is a tale of male brutality, symbolized by the natural elements. It is a slow, dark film, but it had to be because of these ceaseless curses of nature. The novel upon which the movie is based has a very tragic ending, but MGM wanted a happier conclusion and never did film the tragic end as some feel they did. The great Frances Marion adapted the novel for an eventual screenplay that MGM was very eager to make. The direction by Victor Sjostrom was his last American movie. It is now considered a classic though it was not a hit at the time (1928) and lost money for MGM.

    The public and critics panned the movie as unrealistic calling the State (possibly Texas) an impossible place one could inhabit. But the film is very symbolic! The elements indeed became a type of allegory of the conflicts brewing within a tormented household. It's too bad people had such little depth of foresight, being able to analyze the situation at hand. It was a blessing ( but not all saw it that way) that Miss Gish's splendid acting portrayed a poor heroine subject to unspeakable male violence and brutality yet so ironically open to romance as a lonely "western" woman. Everyone needs love, especially those in horrific situations.

    The Wind is actually a film of utter horror which can be unbearable for some. Yet it was and remains a western that tried for truth as well as dramatic art, but it is NEVER a western in our sense of the old west! What makes the wind a very great film is the absolute distillation of the particular art style of silent film to its simplest, most elemental form. There are literally no enormous scenes or added frills as in previous silent fare one sees in films by De Mille, Griffith or others. Natural forces in The Wind accompany human drama and never cease to control destiny in the most realistic of terms. No other big, man made events interfere.

    This absolute last silent film at Metro is a very long, complicated western,

    a family saga, a saga with much suffering, misery and hardship. It is that rare anomaly where everything came together to create a great movie: the perfect director, chosen by Lilian Gish herself, and a cast from heroes to villains all in harmony, on the same wave length to produce something special. Gish did not want any of the leading men of the day as the hero. So out was John Gilbert, Ramon Navarro and more. She chose Lars Halstrom with whom she worked beautifully on previous occasions. What I remember most of this valiant film is the superlative view of the tiny Lilian Gish, AN INNOCENT, thrust in a hard, violent land in which every human resource was necessary for survival. I'm pretty thankful that back in the day Metro decided NOT to use the tragic ending of the novel, as stated above. I don't think I could possibly have gone through the heartache of tragedy in those primitive days of the old west.

    7
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    pietroantoni@  22.5.2015 age: 36-49 14,551 reviews

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