The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927)

G.W. Pabst's "The Love of Jeanne Ney"

After Sergei Eisenstein released his Soviet masterpieces, "Strike" and "Battleship Potemkin" in 1925, all of Europe had become fascinated by Soviet cinema. One such director, G.W. Pabst, even decided to make a Soviet-esque film, one that takes place during the Bolshevik Revolution. Although the film is not entirely montage-driven like the early films of Eisenstein, it does dabble in montage theory around the edges. It also showcases a theme that Pabst would continue to mine in his career; that being the mistreatment of women.

The film takes place during the Bolshevik uprising in Crimea. Jeanne Ney is the daughter of a French diplomat stationed there. After her father is murdered, she must flee to Paris, leaving her lover, Andreas, behind. When she gets to Paris, she is taken in by her uncle Raymond and his blind daughter, Gabrielle.  After Andreas follows her to Paris and finds her there, mishaps ensue. Uncle Raymond sexually assaults his niece, forcing her out. He is then killed and his money stolen. The police believe it to be Andreas until Jeanne tracks down the killer and uncovers him.

Despite this film dealing with the Soviet Civil War, the actual content of the film doesn't seem to be anything about it. What the film is really about is how Jeanne's kindness and love are continuously abused. Her uncle took her in, however, he only cared about money and tried to attack her. The Bolshevik who murdered him also was unsavory - he attempted to seduce Gabrielle in order to steal her father's money. Once he was found it, he murdered him instead. Even Andreas contributed to Jeanne's discontent by being part of the team to murder her father. Jeanne is continuously let down by the men in her life because they only care about money and power.

Pabst was a director who liked to experiment. In this film, he likes to play around with all forms of filmmaking. He takes part in the Soviet montage movement by using rapid edits while Uncle Raymond is dancing around his money vault. He employs expressionism in some scenes to illustrate a fantasy playing out in the minds of certain characters. He takes advantage of the French mise-en-scene to add textual detail to scenes. He also doesn't shy away from realism by portraying things in a matter-of-fact way.

Overall, the film is an experiment for G.W. Pabst. His fascination with film style allowed him to be more creative in his endeavors. "The Love of Jeanne Ney" was a simple melodrama with which to exercise his interests.