Film Review
One of the better films from Austrian filmmaker Hanns Schwarz is this
masterfully crafted melodrama.
Die Wunderbare Lüge der Nina Petrowna
(a.k.a.
The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna) is a
fine example of late 1920s German cinema - in fact it was the last
prestigious silent film to be made by UFA before the studio
switched over to sound with its next film
Melody of the Heart, a musical also directed by Schwarz.
It is not hard to see why the film, adapted from a popular novel
by Hans Szekely, was a massive commercial success.
The film is all the more powerful for its stunning central performance from its
actress, Brigitte Helm, one of the most iconic stars of German silent cinema, perhaps
best known for her appearance in Fritz's Lang's legendary
Metropolis (1927).
Largely overlooked until its restoration more than seventy years after its original release,
this is a film which richly deserves to be more widely known. It shows
how sophisticated and expressive an artform silent cinema had become, just before
sound came along and consigned it to history.
The film was remade in France by Viktor Tourjansky as
Le Mensonge de Nina Petrovna (1937), starring Isa Miranda and
Fernand Gravey.
© James Travers 2003
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Nina, the beautiful wife of the wealthy Colonel Beranoff, is surrounded by luxury in her
St Petersburg apartments, but the one thing she lacks is love. At a restaurant a
dashing young soldier, Michael Rostof, catches her eye. To excuse herself, she tells
her husband that the soldier was a childhood friend, but, aware of Nina's tendency to
lie, the Colonel calls her bluff and invites the soldier to their table. One night,
whilst the Colonel is away, Rostof visits Nina, but, despite his obvious attraction to
her, he chivalrously resists her attempts to seduce him. The next day, the Colonel
discovers the soldier and Nina having breakfast together and sends the soldier away with
a mild threat. Nina however is too far in love to forget Rostof. She abandons
her husband and moves into poor lodgings, hoping to start a new life with Rostof.
When he learns what has become of Nina, the young lieutenant willingly returns her love.
However, the Colonel is determined to do anything to win back his wife…
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.