Amok

The writings of Stefan Zweig now seem to be almost totally forgotten, but this French adaptation of one of his stories is compelling, fascinating and hypnotic. Directed with great skill by the Russian emigre Fedor Ozep, (there is not a word of dialogue during the first eleven minutes of the film), it also has a stunning musical score by Karol Rathaus. L'amour fou was a subject that entranced the Surrealists, but Ozep mixes this compulsive condition with a somewhat harsh realism that makes one see how, beneath the surface of "respectable" society, an irrational madness can sometimes take hold. The closing scene of the film is one of the most dramatic and stunning I have ever witnessed. Naturally the British film censors rejected it!