Ecstasy

Dir. Gustav Machaty

82 Minutes

Czechoslovakia/Austria

1933

Starring: Hedy Lamarr, Aribert Mag, Zvonimir Rogoz, Leopold Kramer, Emil Jerman

****/*****

Gustav Machatý's infamous Ecstasy returns in a beautiful new restoration, and remains quite an intriguing and yearning piece of work. At the start of the film, the older and wealthy Emile opens the door to his house holding Eva (Hedy Lamarr) in his arms, with the newlyweds about to enter the threshold for the first time. Eva's wide smile quickly fades as she begins to see Emile's focus on order and preparation, with any sexual spontaneity pushed against the side. But she soon finds what she is looking for with the young farmer Adam, who shows her pleasures and excitement not previously experienced.

Machaty's film is mostly silent, with small portions of dialogue that, arguably, are not even necessary to follow the surface level motions of the plot (with an extended speech about a divorce filing that is probably the most detailed bit of exposition in the picture). But his grasp of montage is beautifully done, with transitions and symbolic imagery that accomplishes far more than a verbal exchange (or even, in one case, a sound effect) would achieve (some more obvious ones during Lamarr's infamous "orgasm" scene include the striking of a match (on a really great matchstick holder) before she rests to smoke a cigarette, but a personal favorite is a quick shot towards the big doorknob as she walks into Adam's house at the peak of her desire). As the film veers more into melodramatic territory when Emile and Adam cross paths, it rarely looses its propensity to compel as it approaches its rather lovely and somber narrative ending before moving towards a bizarre Eisenstein-lite epilogue. This sequence feels like a head scratcher at first (and it goes on for quite an extended period of time), but the look of dissatisfaction on Adam's face makes one wonder if Machaty is attempting some kind of commentary on both the emphasis of labor and the montage style of films like Battleship Potemkin or Arsenal. Perhaps there is something else that is more important than this focus and philosophy, but for now, at least, it remains a way to achieve the ecstasy of the title.

January 9th, 2020