Classic Russian silent film (1917) with live accompaniment on lute. Dying Swan is interesting for its pre-Revolution bourgeois story-telling of anguished artist, and love won and lost. Wissem adds some atmosphere with his over-sized thrice strung lute. Though the music stands in its own right the repeated melodies fail to develop with the film’s storyline. The overall performance is not greater than its parts and therefore comfortable rather than stimulating or challenging.
International Film Festival Rotterdam in Groningen
Director: Yevgeni Bauer
Live music accompaniment: Jozef van Wissem
VERA, Groningen; Saturday 1 February 2020
Visual Arts: Film
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