Hearts of the World

This is a superb telling of war and how it affects the "common people." It begins with life in a small French village and how people go about their daily lives. This is the story of two Americans (Lillian Gish and Robert Harron) who meet and fall in love. But during their courtship Lillian's sister (Dorothy) takes a liking to Robert (called The Boy on the movie title cards) and tries to take him which leads to some interesting scenes. She finally realizes she can't have him and decides to take what she can have.

There are good action battle scenes that very well show the chaos that is a battle. Chaos reigns supreme again when the town is bombed and the citizens have to flee. They have to try and pack then get out and still survive the bombing. Then there are those that don't want to leave. The movie does a good job of showing the horrors of death and the impact that has on people.

War is about people. We tend to forget that (today's news refers to the impact on non-soldiers as 'collateral damage'). D.W. Griffith shows that impact. And yet, when it is over, how quickly we again look for the bright side of life and that is how it should be.

One of the great features of this film is the limited use of title cards. They are used mostly as background filler and very little for conversations (much like Sunrise). Yet you know what is going on and the emotions of the moment. There is nothing mechanical about the acting. 8/10