This Yevgeni Bauer feature is a carefully crafted and chilling psychological drama of love, death, and obsession. It's impossible to watch it without being reminded of "Vertigo". The story in "Daydreams" is completely different, but the main themes are remarkably similar. Nor is it at all unworthy of being mentioned alongside that masterpiece, as "Daydreams" is very effective in its own right. In fact, the only thing that really keeps "Daydreams" from reaching the level of "Vertigo" is the lack of a first-rate cast.
The story centers around Sergei, a widower who is obsessed with the memory of his dead wife, to a degree that becomes entirely unhealthy. Although the story itself is the main attraction, the cast is solid. Alexander Vyrubov plays the main character believably, without much restraint, but in a fashion that seems appropriate for a character in Sergei's mental and emotional condition. The female characters are also rendered believably and sympathetically. One of Bauer's achievements in this feature is that he creates an understanding for all of the characters, even when they come into conflict with one another.
The highlight of the movie comes fairly early on, with a detailed staging of a macabre sequence from Meyerbeer's opera "Robert the Devil". It's a very impressive set piece for 1915, and it is also a key point in the development of the story. As you see Sergei sitting in the audience, mesmerized by the creepy action on the stage, you can tell almost exactly what is going on inside his mind as he watches.
The story that develops from there is compelling and engrossing. At times it makes the viewer uncomfortable to see so clearly into Sergei's tormented mind but the story grabs all of your attention, and won't let go. Very few movies of the era tried to tackle these kinds of psychological themes, in which the fear is almost entirely mental rather than physical, and that makes it all the more commendable that "Daydreams" succeeds so well.
