Joe, a circus clown, has a chance meeting with a famous French fashion designer, who – enthralled by Joe’s artistic talent – gets him a job in Paris. He quickly becomes the talk of the town, but as we know, wealth and happiness do not always go hand in hand, as opulent big-city living tragically seals the poor clown’s fate.
The year is 1820 and a young, promising artist, Olaf Malm, has settled in Rome, Europe’s centre of art at the time. He is in love with Sigrid, but class differences make their love impossible. Olaf Malm dies in a tragic accident; he allegedly drowns in the Tiber, but his body is never found. Sigrid gives birth to their lovechild, and twenty years later history repeats itself: their son, Henry, who has never known his real parents, loves a woman who is far above him in social rank. Fate brings him back to Rome, where his parents loved and lost each other many years before. (stumfilm.dk)
A talentless artist with a greatly inflated ego, Carlo Morton, has enchanted the naïve Helga with tales from Italy. Yearning to see the world, Helga decides to run away from home, following her pompous friend to warmer climes. Morton suddenly has his hands full trying to hide his Italian mistress away. At the same time, the stalwart train engineer Helder, who also has tender feelings for Helga, has followed her to Italy in order to reveal the true nature of the disagreeable artist and bring Helga home. (stumfilm.dk)
Thor Brekanæs is found murdered in the moraine near his farm. Was the culprit the poor day labourer Swein? Was it Thor’s illegitimate son Vasil, clearing away an obstacle to his unwelcome marriage to Thor’s goddaughter, Thora? Or was it someone else entirely? (stumfilm.dk)
Shipowner Holm’s young wife Grete has a head full of romantic ideas. Holm is particularly irritated by her interest in the poet Lorens Bøllemose, who has almost moved in with the couple. With the help of a friend, he plots a shipwreck during an excursion on the Øresund. Stranded on a deserted island with both men, Grete comes to realise that she prefers her manly spouse to the romantic poet.
덴마크의 선구적인 영화감독 벤자민 크리스텐슨의 악명 높은 다큐멘터리로 장르를 분명히 규정하기 어려울 정도로 매우 기이한 작품이다. 악마에 대한 옛 사람들의 공포가 정신질환에 대한 오해에서 기인함을 설명하는 탐구로도 이해할 수 있고 동시에 오싹한 공포 영화로도 볼 수 있다. 크리스텐슨은 고대에서부터 중세, 당대에 이르기까지 악령이나 사탄 숭배에 관련한 자료들을 분석하고 재연한다. 그리고 중세에 이르러 이런 망상들이 빚어낸 '마녀 사냥'에 대해 집중적으로 언급하면서 정신병리학적인 접근과 비교한다.
