Film Review
Les Dents de fer could have
been, had its director Léonce Perret wanted it, an utterly grim
film. If it were to be remade today there's no doubt that whoever
directed it would dwell on the more sensational and macabre aspects of
the plot, sparing us none of the gruesome details. Perret had
more respect for his audience than this and instead of thrusting the
horrid spectacle of self-mutilation into our faces he leaves it to us
to join up the dots. It is not horror that Perret wants us to
feel, but sympathy for a noble individual who makes a terrible
sacrifice out of a sense of duty to his fellow man. After the
good Dr Prain has freed himself from the infernal mantrap, he scarcely
draws attention to the fact that he has all but lost the use of his
right hand. Only in the very final shot, when the little girl
whose life he saved takes his mutilated extremity and kisses it, do we
realise the extent of his sacrifice and see how noble an act it was.
If Léonce Perret's close colleague at Gaumont, Louis Feuillade,
had been in the director's chair,
Les
Dents de fer would most probably have ended up as a full-blown
melodrama and suspense thriller. Perret was certainly aware of
the popular appeal of such sensationalist fare and this makes it all
the more surprising that he should deliver a far more subtle kind of
film - a morality tale that appeals to our better rather than our baser
instincts. Perret's restraint as a storyteller is matched by the
ingenuity of his mise-en-scène, which puts him on virtually the
same level as D. W. Griffith.
It's worth noting Perret's use of deep focus photography to extend the
depth of field, so that any activity in the background is as prominent
as that taking place in the foreground. One prime example of this is
the scenes in which the anxious parents telephone a surgeon and anxiously
await his arrival. In the background, we can easily see the
servants rushing about
attending to the stricken child. There is a sense of urgency, but
also we feel the helplessness of the parents as they sit and wait for the
one man who can save their daughter.
Les Dents de fer is a comparatively
minor work in Léonce Perret's oeuvre but it reveals a filmmaker
who possessed not only great skill but also something far rarer:
discretion.
© James Travers 2015
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Next Léonce Perret film:
Le Roman d'un mousse (1914)
Film Synopsis
One evening, Dr Brosny and his wife are hosting a lively dinner party
at their château in the country when their little girl, Germaine,
is suddenly taken ill. Fearful that his daughter's life is in
peril, Dr Brosny immediately summons a specialist surgeon, Dr Prain, to
his home and anxiously awaits his arrival. On the way, Dr Prain's
car breaks down and he decides to complete his journey on foot.
Before he can reach the Brosny's château, Dr Prain stumbles and
gets his fingers caught in a mantrap. There is only one course
open to him...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.