The Wind (1928)

Victor Sjostrom's "The Wind"

As a producer, Gish wanted to continue to work with Victor Sjostrom. Their next collaboration, after "The Scarlet Letter," was an adaption of the stage play of the same name by Dorothy Scarborough. The play, and the film, tells the story of a frail Eastern waif who becomes impoverished and is forced to move in with her cousin out West. Throughout her story, she faces many hardships, including the unyielding wind. The penetrative wind in the story is meant as an allegory to constant pressure of the unsavory men around her. Throughout the story, she is constantly having to defend herself from various male presences. The film is laced with sexual metaphors, like desire, jealousy, seductions, prudism, virginity, and rape. By the end of the film, the protagonist, Letty, reaches her breaking point and kills the man who tries to rape her. By then, her superficial frailty is now replaced, as she had gone to the deep depths of her soul to uncover something far more resilient and embraces the pressures of the wind. Because of this female-centric narrative about the subjective struggles of being a woman, many film historians hail this film as one of the first "women pictures." 

Sjostrom was a director famous for incorporating the environment into the stories of his films. "The Wind" is no different. In order to really convey the efforts of the wind, especially without using sounds, Sjostrom had to get creative. In order for the viewing to actually see the wind gusting on screen (since the wind is more of a felt sensation), Sjostrom added sand to the blowing machines. The result is a visual representation of the wind, as you can actually see it because of the rapidly moving sand. He also uses a cutaway shot of a white horse superimposed in the sky. The visual allusion represents the offhand comment earlier in the film in which someone tells Letty that the Native Americans call these Northern winds the "ghost horse." 

Another interesting directing element Sjostrom brought to "The Wind" was the final climax. Alone in her house with a seemingly dangerous man, Letty begins to go mad. It is uncertain whether Letty's murder of the man trying to rape her was a product of hallucination brought about by the terror of the wind almost blowing down the house, or if it was real. The reason for this ambiguity lies with the double shot of the body being uncovered by the sand. In one instance, Letty looks out and sees the wind uncovering the dead body. However, after her new husband Lige enters, she admits to him her trespasses only for the two of them to look out the window once again to find that no body remains. Was this murder in her mind? If so, it seems to represent Letty's internal victory of overcoming her fears. She seems to have found some resilience inside of her, strong enough to take on the pressures thrown her way. 

When the film was released in 1928, studios were already beginning to transition to sound pictures. This, as well as the lackluster response from critics and general audiences, caused the movie to fail on every level. Because of this failure and the changing of the industry, this was the last silent film produced by MGM. It was also the last silent film for both the film's star and director. Since the failure of the film, many film historians have propped this film up as being far artistically superior than the initial reactions. The focus on the subjective female experience, the use of natural environment as an allegory, and the superb final silent acting role of Lillian Gish allows for a more positive reflection on the film. 

After "The Wind," Victor Sjostrom moved back to Sweden. Due to the evolution of sound in film, he felt he was on the outside looking in. His directing styles, specifically involving the naturalism of silent acting, was beginning to become extinct. Because of this, he stopped directing all together and instead turned his focus to acting. However, he has become a shining light amongst the array of silent films during this period. His films dealt with humanity, both as a product of nature and as a victim to it. With "The Wind," he expertly conveyed this and left his imprint on cinema forever.