Cœur fidèle

Jean Epstein’s first masterpiece, a melodrama in which the two main threads of his cinema converge despite seeming diametrically opposed at first glance—namely, a willingness for refined, often spectacular formal experimentation and an interest in simple, detailed descriptions of everyday life. The story was shot on location in Marseille and Manosque and unfolds in a captivating, atmospheric combination of reality and dream. Two men—an honest dock worker and a silver-tonged crook—compete for the attentions of a waitress at a bar. An intoxicatingly high-paced scene at a funfair generated particular attention, as Epstein attached the camera to the carousel like he’d announced he would in his manifesto Bonjour Cinéma: “The fairground becomes progressively blurred. The centrifugalisation amplifies the visual drama in extraordinary fashion—thanks to the ‘photogenic’ qualities of dizziness and gyration.” COEUR FIDÈLE provoked strong reactions on its release, but although the reviews were mixed, Epstein’s approach was admired by filmmakers first and foremost and he was accepted as a leading figure of the French cinema avantgarde. Henri Langlois later referred to the film as the “QUAI DES BRUMES of the 1920s” due to its poetic qualities. (Christoph Huber)

With live music by Meg Morley on 18.10.

All retrospective films that will be shown at the Filmmuseum after the Viennale - from 29.10. - can of course also be reserved as usual at filmmuseum.at or by calling 01/533 70 54 and purchased at the box office of the Austrian Film Museum. The prices of the Austrian Film Museum apply.