Fanchon the Cricket

Mary Pickford plays Fanchon, the granddaughter of a woman considered a witch by the villagers, who grows up wild in the woods somewhere in pre-revolutionary France. The film is about how Fanchon falls in love with Landry, the son of the wealthiest villager (Jack Standing) and eventually wins him despite his initial betrothal to village beauty Madelon (Mary's sister Lottie). In many ways this is a delightful film. It is beautifully photographed; the scenes in the woodland are outstanding. In this respect, 'Fanchon the Cricket' has the feel of an early and extraordinarily well-made nature film. It is quite different from well-photographed films of the German expressionist kind that began to develop in the years before the First World War, but it is no less artistic. Besides, 'Fanchon' has been preserved in pristine condition (or expertly restored). The copy I watched looked as sharp and clear as if it had been filmed yesterday, and the tinting (amber for daylight, blue-grey for dusk etc.) enhances the mood of the film. Another plus is Pickford's acting. She is vivacious and has a huge range of expressions. On the downside is James Kirkwood's direction, which I found distinctly uninspired. The plot does drag occasionally, and it could also have been fleshed out quite a bit more. Over fairly large parts of the film the title cards are too rare to clarify what is going on. What I found really disturbing was the modern music, which apparently has been specially composed for the film. It fits in no way. It has the wrong instruments and does not match the plot. I turned it off after a while and watched 'Fanchon' without sound. In sum, this film isn't perfect, but it is still beautiful and good to watch. It made me want to read George Sand's novel on which it is based.