A Sereia Negra

What a treat to see Josephine Baker in her film debut at age 21, and what a significantly better role than what Hollywood was offering relative to African-Americans at the time. Baker's character is exoticized and unfortunately speaks broken English, but she's also smart, alluring, and talented. She got top billing and is magnetic every time she's on the screen. We're treated to her looking cute in flapper outfits, her dancing on the stage, and her splashing around topless in a tub. What I was impressed by most was that this was a human portrait of a young woman who is vibrant, joyful, and in love, which was many decades ahead of its time compared to American films.

The film is not without its flaws, starting with the colonial scenes which, while not awful, are off-putting. On the other hand, the colonizers are shown to be evil, and in parallel scenes we see a woman fending off the advances of a rich man in France, and another (Baker) fighting off his right-hand man in what seems to be the West Indies. They are the cruel ones, exploiting the land and moving people around like pawns on a chessboard. It's not a very deep plot though, and it drags in places when Baker is not in the scene (and even when she is, it gets a little silly, e.g. the chase on the steamer). I was more than happy to be patient with those scenes to see Baker shine though. It was pretty interesting to see Luis Buñuel listed as assistant director in the opening credits too.

SIREN OF THE TROPICS was the first of a series of French films featuring legendary dancer and entertainer Josephine Baker and her only silent feature. It is part of a three film set released on DVD by Kino International to honor the legendary performer . SIREN was long thought to have been lost but, like a number of silents in recent times, a copy has turned up and proved to be in good condition which can be witnessed on this DVD.

The image quality is very good and it has been tinted to 1920s style specifications. There are a few brief portions where the film jitters or throbs due to shrinkage and judging from the trailer which is included, some footage seems to be missing but it doesn't detract from the overall presentation. "La Baker", as the French called her is a sensation in her debut essentially playing herself as she appeared at the Folies Bergere. The latter parts of the film display her stage act and enable us to see her as Paris saw her in 1926 making it not only entertaining but a valuable historical record as well.

Unfortunately the rest of the movie is not very good with the rest of the performers coming nowhere near Baker's ability. Like another film recently released on DVD featuring an exotic star (PICCADILLY with Anna May Wong), SIREN has yet another tired melodramatic plot with the exotic star there as icing on the cake. As well made as it is with some beautiful art deco settings and extremely racy footage of Josephine Baker sans clothing, SIREN ultimately illustrates what was happening to silent films everywhere (except in the Soviet Union) just before sound arrived. The pictures look great but the use of cinema technique and especially the storytelling just weren't there. Even in Europe the mindset of Hollywood was taking over.

Nevertheless I recommend this DVD for the chance to see one of the great cabaret performers of the 20th century in what is her best film along with plenty of extras including a 20 minute documentary on Josephine Baker produced by her son and an incredibly risque' short featuring an inebriated fireman who sees nude chorus girls everywhere. Donald Sosin's musical accompaniment is fine as usual ranging from solo piano to tropical sounding melodies which enhance the action...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

I only saw the first and last two reels, supposedly all of the file that has survived. Josephine Baker's role is similar to her roles in Zouzou (1934) and Princess Tam-Tam (1935), the innocent from the tropics who is brought to civilization and finds it somewhat wanting. However, she does get to keep a man in the end.

Most interesting for Josephine Baker. It includes a short segment of one of her stage dances. Seeing her move in close-up is also a pleasure. The film is an oddity in that it was shot as a pantomime (there are no titles).

Though it's hardly a matter exclusive to this title, within the silent era or beyond, there's something to be said for the fact that this feature plays very fast and loose with its conceptions of peoples and cultures outside the purview of white western Europe, including a degree of both condescension and dubious fetishizing (especially as to titular "siren" Papitou). Furthermore, whether or not one is a fan of cinema of the timeframe I don't think there's much disputing that the acting, and more so the scene writing and plot development, is marked by a tinge of forthrightness that reflects a somewhat common description of older movies as "simpler entertainment for a simpler time." Be all that as it may, however, even keeping these qualities in mind, I believe the strengths of the picture well outweigh any subjective faults or weaknesses. In fact, even with such marginal issues, I think this rather stands just as tall if not taller than many of its contemporaries. 'Siren of the tropics,' or 'La sirène des tropiques,' may not be an absolute must-see, but this is surprisingly well-rounded and entertaining, and holds up pretty well even almost 100 years later.

Writer Maurice Dekobra penned a story that's earnestly engaging and compelling, with welcome nuances and multiple detailed facets that are all important to the whole. Characters feel a tad more fleshed out than we've seen elsewhere (again, silent era or otherwise), and the scene writing is thorough and robust both in building the narrative and in keeping viewers invested with action, drama, and character moments of significance. There are distinct airs of colonialism and racism coursing through the tale as part and parcel of it (and how this dovetails into values of the 1920s, particularly in regards to race, well, that's a longer discussion), but more substantial still are themes of love, manipulation, exploitation, underhanded scheming, and hard-boiled determination - culminating, of course, in requital, the triumph of the good and virtuous over those of ill intentions, and hearts prevailing. Truly, Dekobra fashioned a strong screenplay, and filmmakers Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant, co-directing, did a fine job of realizing that screenplay with an unexpected vibrancy, infusing a minor sense of adventure and low-key thrills into this drama. The direction may not be entirely remarkable, but the pair orchestrated shots and scenes with a keen attentiveness to all the moods the saga carries in turn, including of course romance and light humor. Kudos all around!

All this excellence is furthered by the capable contributions of both cast and crew. It's very noteworthy that this marks the film debut of Josephine Baker, an icon both on-screen and off, and she gives a wholehearted, energetic performance that's altogether invigorating. Co-stars including Pierre Batcheff, Regina Thomas, or Kiranine may not completely stand out as much, but still everyone involved demonstrates fine acting skills of range and physicality (if flavored to an extent by the more straightforward tack of silent film-making). Moreover, 'Siren of the tropics' looks great from top to bottom, making use of superb filming locations, sets, costume design, and hair and makeup. Those few stunts and effects that are employed look terrific, not to mention aspects of choreography. And still we're not quite done, because there's one thing more: yes, as stated, in some measure the movie capitalizes in an unfavorable fashion on race, tawdrily misusing or abusing Baker as a woman of color. Yet I don't think there's much disputing that, if unevenly, 'Siren' also takes time to meaningfully elevate Baker as a black woman by the same token. She's the first black woman to be given a major, starring role in a major motion picture; though Papitou is written with stereotypes in part, she's also granted agency and personality befitting an actual lead character. The feature even smartly, cheekily takes a knock at those conventions that put white actors in blackface, earning the biggest laughs of these ninety minutes - and wittingly or not, slyly connotes how white culture pointedly steals from black culture. And through it all, Baker dominates with a presence that far outpaces that of anyone else in front of the camera.

Beyond even what I've already mentioned it can hardly be said that this is totally perfect, as the narrative ultimately follows a thrust that's kind of tiresome specifically for the way that the key character is undervalued. Nonetheless, what the title does well and gets right notably outweighs what it does less well, or gets wrong. Characterized by admirable writing, direction, acting, and craftsmanship, and leaping out not least with Baker's newborn star power, this isn't 100% essential, but it earns a high, solid recommendation, and is well worth anyone's time. 'Siren of the tropics' is well balanced between the good and the questionable, and in all elements of the storytelling, and above all is really fun. Both on its own merits and as a bit of a landmark in cinema, this is a classic that deserves recognition and remembrance.

The film is merely ok, but the performance of Josephine Baker is extraordinary, particularly for those times.