La Roue (1923)

 Abel Gance's "La Roue"


In 1923, Abel Gance made a film that centers on the heartbreak of life. The film is about a man who rescues a small orphan from a train accident. After raising the orphan with his son, the man eventually falls in love with his growing daughter. After discovering that his sister is not his sister, the son does the same. The film was meant to display a Shakespearian tragedy on film, incestual romances and all. The film is about how difficult life is. It is about how we continue to suffer over and over again, making all the same mistakes along the way. Life is like a wheel, continuing to turn. With the film, Gance used incredible editing techniques. He would rapidly edit images together to give a greater intensity to a scene. An example of this is when two train cars are about to crash into each other. Gance edits the images rapidly, using a single frame for only a split second. The effect induces a greater anxiety in the audience. This is something he seems to have borrowed from the techniques of D.W. Griffith. "La Roue" was met with wide appraise and acclaim. It continues to this day to be a great film in the French silent era.




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