Michael (1924)

A famous painter (Benjamin Christensen) takes on an aspiring young artist called Michael (Walter Slezak) as a model and falls in love with him. They are happy for several years until a Russian countess (Nora Gregor) enters the picture and seduces the young man. But in spite of the unfaithfulness, the painter remains obsessively devoted to him. Based on the novel MIKAEL by Herman Bang and directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer (PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC). Considered a landmark in gay silent cinema, MICHAEL is a subdued reflection on obsessive love or true love if you prefer, the film's final line is the oft quoted "Now I can die in peace, for I have seen true love". Absolutely, nothing Michael does (lies, betrayal, theft) can damage the painter's feelings toward him. But is that true love? Or is it a form of masochism? It's a fine line anyway you look at it. There's no hesitation that this is a beautifully rendered piece of cinema and I much prefer it to Dreyer's later cinematic treatise on the same subject, GERTRUD with which it has much in common. The young almost pretty Slezak bears no resemblance to the portly character actor he would become in 1940s Hollywood in films like LIFEBOAT. With Max Auzinger, Robert Garrison and Grete Mosheim.