An impressively experimental one-reeler, "The Rosary" demonstrates as ever how well director, writer and star Lois Weber was at integrating her Catholic proselytizing into art. Here, the film image is framed within a circular matte made of the titular rosary. It reminds me of the circular shape of magic lantern slides, the shows of which often included poetic or song-based narration--this film, too, being said to be based on a popular song and quite poetic in its flowing juxtaposition of fading images and only four lyrical title cards. The score by Esin Aydingoz and performed by the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra for the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers presentation helps.
The semicentennial Civil War melodrama, of a love story torn by war and nunnery, isn't of much interest, but the novel way it's presented as a framed memory is appreciated. A lot of writing on Weber's films is spent on the often-controversial content of their messages, but it's also remarkable how conceptually and visually intriguing they could be.
