Afgrunden

All four films made by Asta Nielsen in Denmark (in 1910, 1911 and 1919) , before she became an international superstar, have been released by the Danish Film Institute, which was created a hundred years ago and has taken care of Danish films ever since. Thus we usually get very good, clean and sharp copies of films almost 100 years old. The series is truly amazing, and the Asta Nielsen disk is one of the best. The four features (on one disk) are: Livets storme, Afrgrunden, Den sorte drøm, and Mod Lyset. I had only seen Asta Nielsen's later films, such as Hamlet, before, therefore I was astounded to see that she was a rather beautiful actress in her youth, with a figure of a Barbie doll which she isn't afraid to show. The films are remarkably good as well. In Afgrunden, we see Miss Nielsen as a shy piano teacher who abandons her fiancée in order to elope with a circus artist, who turns her into a harlot and a murderess; in Livets storme she is a dancer whose beauty brings along the ruin of her and of men; in Den sorte drom she is a circus star who does everything for the man she loves, and in Mod Lyset a reckless countess who has to destroy the lives of several men as well as her own before she learns the true values of life. The last tale is a bit moralizing for modern tastes, but the first three (from 1910-1911) are true gems. These films are naturalistic, strong portraits of life before the WW I. Miss Nielsen is a very good actress indeed, as well as a gorgeous clothes horse, wearing the trendiest models of the day around her nonexistent waist. The prints are very sharp, even though the first film shows some decomposition. They should have been released colour tinted and with somewhat more interesting musical accompaniment than the constantly meditating piano, but who cares? These films still were eye openers. When you thought the film wasn't a true art form back in 1910, think again: moving camera, panning camera, closeups, parallel editing, fluent narrative – it's all there, and years before these techniques became accepted in UK, US or Italy.

Interesting film, though it does seem too long at some points. The film however do contain especially one interesting scene. Magda, the young girl whom the story revolves around, is performing on stage, with her love, a circus artist. On stage she ties him up with rope, and slowly starts to dance around him. But it ain't polka she's dancing! She rubs against his body, feeling him up, while she slowly moves around him. Now this of course doesn't sound very provocative today, but at that time it made the mountains move! In fact, it was so provocative at the time that it was forbidden for young men to see. Of course not any young man... only to the young men from the working classes (we all know who easy "they" /working class men/ are influenced! One simply couldn't afford to poison a young workers mind!)

In my opinion there are movies before "Afgrunden", then there are movies after "Afgrunden".

Up to 1909, movies were mostly trick films, with limited story-telling and exaggerated film acting. Then came "Afgrunden". Not only is the theme more mature than earlier films, it is also beautifully shot (a quality evident in much of Nordic cinema) and then there is the extraordinary performance of Asta Nielsen who became an instant house-hold name (my ex-wife's grand-mother, born in Australia in 1913 was named after her!) The quality of cinema rapidly improved from 1910 onwards and "Afgrunden" was the turning point.

Asta Nielsen graced and livened many films over the remaining Silent Period (working mostly in Germany) and her natural, believable performances raised the bar in film acting by several notches. She became the new standard!

Director Urban Gad is not as well known as he should be but this film and "The Black Dream", made the following year, indicate he should be re-evaluated.

"Afgrunden" is a clearly primitive movie. It isn't stylistic revolutionary, and doesn't invent any new way to tell a story. However.... Though "Afgrunden" is from 1910 there is one scene I just can't seem to forget. It sticks to me in some strange way. The famous dancing scene with Asta Nielsen clearly has a sexual context. Even compared to modern films tendency to make sexual contents seem as dirty as possible, "Afgrunden" represents the same standard with a lot more modest use of effects and 'moves'. Try to see it, just for that one scene.

A big, two-reel feature picture, naturally acted, with Miss Asta Nielson in the leading role. She is well supported by a large cast. The story is perfectly clear and smooth, demanding no strain on the spectator's attention. It is extremely well photographed, and shows most delightful backgrounds, glimpses of street life in Copenhagen, and glimpses of a village street, with an old church tower, in rural Denmark; also other scenes, among them a wayside beer garden under a grove of pines. The story is sensational and ends very dramatically in a tense climax. It deals with passion in a clean handed, honest way. It opens with a meeting of a young man and woman, shows a glimpse of the courtship and carries us on through a married life without love, to the coming of the man, a circus performer, who excites passion in the wife. The rest of the picture shows a good deal of her sensational experiences with this man. Twice her husband tries in vain to recall her. Their last meeting comes by chance in the piney beer garden and results in a sensational struggle, in which the woman kills her paramour and is led away by the police. - The Moving Picture World, April 27, 1912