La Bohème

La Boheme is a notoriously unreleased film that sometimes broadcasts on TCM. Thanks to a great cast featuring Lillian Gish, John Gilbert, and Renee Adoree, it is no wonder why fans clamor to see it. The star power indeed makes the film a good one. The story is one of sadness and heartbreak; two people live struggling to make ends meet in a shabby town in France. He is working as a writer, succumbing to pieces for the newspaper for money while he can flesh out his play. She is a seamstress whose love for him leads her to working herself to death. The love story is tragic and beautiful.

I have never understood the appeal of Gilbert, so I was not as interested in his character or, in consequence, the romantic relationship between he and Gish than I could have been. He is not a bad actor; I simply do not gravitate to his type. Gish is wonderful, however, as a pathetic but beautiful woman. One bright spot of this film was the couple's scenes on a picnic running through the wilderness in the sunlight.