Alice Guy-Blanche was one of cinema's true pioneers, yet it seems as if her work barely gets any recognition. Kino has released quite a few of her films on DVD (including this one), which I'm definitely pleased to see. But even with quite a few of her films being available on disc, she still doesn't have as big a following as she deserves. From my point of view, she belongs on the same list as great early film pioneers like the Lumiere brothers, Georges Melies, D.W. Griffith, and Edwin S. Porter. She was one of the first female filmmakers, and a lot of her films are truly amazing, from the 1906 epic "The Birth, The Life, and the Death of Christ" to the sweet 1912 drama that is "Falling Leaves", she left quite a legacy behind her. A legacy that deserves more attention.
What about THIS Alice Guy Blanche film? Is it any good?
It certainly is very good. In fact, it's MAGNIFICENT!!!
There's just something about this film that I found to be very beautiful. It's hard to put into words the beauty of "The Ocean Waif", I'd recommend you see it for yourself just to take in the experience. The truly impacting experience.
If I had to put into words what makes "The Ocean Waif" so beautiful to me, it would be the pure sweetness of it. It's just so sweet and lovely! The characters are so charming and likable (except for the antagonist), the humor is so funny, and the emotion is so strong. There's scenes that are intense, there's scenes that are hilarious, and there's scenes that are just plain romantic.
It never really gets all too melodramatic like some silent films seem to do. It manages to be a very calm and peaceful film for a majority of its running time. The plot is simple, the length is short, and it never goes over the top with drama. Sure, there's drama, but that drama manages to be very well written and well shot. Everything works on both technically and script wise. To me, it was all around perfect.
After 100 full years of existence, "The Ocean Waif" still manages to be charming, funny, heartwarming, and unspeakably beautiful...and on top of all of that it's only 40 minutes!
A true masterpiece, if there were only more films like it!
