André Antoine's adaptation of the Zola novel "La Terre" works very well. It is a memorable and believable adaptation, helped significantly by Antoine's naturalistic approach, excellent location cinematography, and a cast that works together very well. Just as Zola's story does, the movie reveals a great deal about the darker side of human nature, with characters well- designed to bring home its points. It is a dark, often grim drama, but for all that it is very interesting and satisfying to watch.
The adaptation keeps most of the significant characters and events from the novel, and it is able to maintain the complexity of the story and the characters' interactions much better than you might expect a silent movie to do in a normal running time. This is in large part due to the fine performances from the cast, whose acting is often restrained but quite convincing. Even the lesser characters are brought to life and made interesting.
Germaine Rouer, as Françoise, performs particularly well in what is really the only sympathetic role in the story. Armand Bour's performance as the unfortunate father Fouan is also hard to forget. Fouan is a foolish and short-sighted man who brings most of his problems on himself, yet, as Bour's performance brings out, the heartache of even such a foolish person is sad to anyone who cares about humanity.
Zola wrote so many fine novels that in one respect it is odd that so few of them have been made into movies. But the complex plots and relationships, and the large numbers of characters, present obvious challenges even to resourceful film-makers. This version of "La Terre" is quite successful in handling these challenges, and in creating a movie that is well worth seeing in itself, as well as a worthy adaptation of the original.
The adaptation keeps most of the significant characters and events from the novel, and it is able to maintain the complexity of the story and the characters' interactions much better than you might expect a silent movie to do in a normal running time. This is in large part due to the fine performances from the cast, whose acting is often restrained but quite convincing. Even the lesser characters are brought to life and made interesting.
Germaine Rouer, as Françoise, performs particularly well in what is really the only sympathetic role in the story. Armand Bour's performance as the unfortunate father Fouan is also hard to forget. Fouan is a foolish and short-sighted man who brings most of his problems on himself, yet, as Bour's performance brings out, the heartache of even such a foolish person is sad to anyone who cares about humanity.
Zola wrote so many fine novels that in one respect it is odd that so few of them have been made into movies. But the complex plots and relationships, and the large numbers of characters, present obvious challenges even to resourceful film-makers. This version of "La Terre" is quite successful in handling these challenges, and in creating a movie that is well worth seeing in itself, as well as a worthy adaptation of the original.