For a good part of three decades, film critic Pauline Kael was one of the most influential movie reviewers in her business. Her pieces, including a stint with the New Yorker from 1968 to 1991, heavily swayed her readers as to what movies to see and how to appreciate them. Her counterpart, Roger Ebert, wrote in tribute after she passed away, stating Kael "had a more positive influence on the climate for film in America than any other single person over the last three decades." Asked in an interview to name her all-time favorite movie, she listed a French short, November 1926's "Menilmontant" as number one.
Written and directed by filmmaker Dimitri Kirsanoff, "Menilmontant," named after a poor working-class district in Paris, follows two young sisters who had witnessed the aftermath of a brutal murder while they were playing in the woods. The image of the scene (not shown on screen) disturbed these two children so much that the incident had an indelible psychological effect carried over into their adult lives. The Younger Sister (Nadia Sibrirskaia) was unable to have a long lasting relationship with men. When she has a brief fling with one, she gets pregnant. The Older Sister (Yolande Beaulieu) becomes a member of the oldest profession in the world and was separated from her sister because of a dispute. The two ping-pong throughout the district as director Kirsanoff follows Nadia trying to survive with her baby during very hard times.
The simple story unfolds as one of the most unique silent films in French cinema. Containing small doses of avant guard visuals, "Menilmontant" anticipates the look and feel of the 1950s New French Wave with a number of jump cuts and swirling camera movements. Kirsanoff steps inside the uneasy mind of Nadia's character with a number of revealing close-ups of her anguished face. The director unravels the film's plot without one solitary inter title.
Labeled as a lyrical film with a poetic framework, "Menilmontant" was the second for Kirsanoff as well as his oldest surviving film. He was one of the rare filmmakers who financed his own movies and never worked for a studio. The Russian-born director continued producing films well into the late 1950s. Kirsanoff married actress Sibirskaia, who played the Younger Sister and was a regular performer in his early movies.
Written and directed by filmmaker Dimitri Kirsanoff, "Menilmontant," named after a poor working-class district in Paris, follows two young sisters who had witnessed the aftermath of a brutal murder while they were playing in the woods. The image of the scene (not shown on screen) disturbed these two children so much that the incident had an indelible psychological effect carried over into their adult lives. The Younger Sister (Nadia Sibrirskaia) was unable to have a long lasting relationship with men. When she has a brief fling with one, she gets pregnant. The Older Sister (Yolande Beaulieu) becomes a member of the oldest profession in the world and was separated from her sister because of a dispute. The two ping-pong throughout the district as director Kirsanoff follows Nadia trying to survive with her baby during very hard times.
The simple story unfolds as one of the most unique silent films in French cinema. Containing small doses of avant guard visuals, "Menilmontant" anticipates the look and feel of the 1950s New French Wave with a number of jump cuts and swirling camera movements. Kirsanoff steps inside the uneasy mind of Nadia's character with a number of revealing close-ups of her anguished face. The director unravels the film's plot without one solitary inter title.
Labeled as a lyrical film with a poetic framework, "Menilmontant" was the second for Kirsanoff as well as his oldest surviving film. He was one of the rare filmmakers who financed his own movies and never worked for a studio. The Russian-born director continued producing films well into the late 1950s. Kirsanoff married actress Sibirskaia, who played the Younger Sister and was a regular performer in his early movies.