The Abyss
(Afgrunden) (Kosmorama, Denmark, 1910)
Dir., scen.: Urban Gad; cast: Asta Nielsen (Magda Vang), Robert Dinesen (Knud Svane), Poul Remumert (Rudolf Stern); DC 4K, 38’ (transferred 18 to 24 fps), black and white; intertitle/subtitle language: DK/EN, PL; source: Danish Film Institute.
“The Abyss” was the debut of not only Asta Nielsen, one of the most popular actresses of the silent movie era, but also of Urban Gad – a former journalist and playwright who would go on to direct nearly seventy pictures in his homeland of Denmark and in Germany.
The film tells the story of a torrid love triangle. On a tram, Magda, a music teacher, meets Knud, the son of a pastor. After their engagement, during a stay at his parents’, the lovers pay a visit to the circus where the protagonist, enthralled by the performers, falls in love with Rudolf, one of the artists. The two flee and plan to elope. But their happiness is short-lived. Seeing Rudolf flirt with other women, Magda decides to return to Knut. Unwilling to let her go, however, Rudolf tracks her down and the lovers’ quarrel ends fatally.
“The Abyss” was truly captivating and for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which was Asta Nielsen’s incredible performance. Despite her acting being surprisingly modern – she rejected theatrical exaggeration in favor of rather minimalist expression – Nielsen was able to create a convincing, passionate heroine. Magda is a modern woman – independent, making her own money, both of which were not all that widespread in early 20th century; at the same time, she was ready to reject the life she has heretofore lived and dispense with bourgeois propriety in the name of love and fulfilment.
Nielsen and Gad’s debut also stood out thanks to stunning visuals shot in natural locations. The opening scene, which introduces Magda by depicting her center frame, standing in the middle of a busy intersection with her back turned towards the lens, waiting for a tram, continues to inspire awe to this very day. On the other hand, the sequence depicting Knut waiting for the protagonist at a train station strongly resembles a scene from one of first films in history, the Lumière brothers’ 1896 effort ”Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat”.
The graphic, passionate dance scene between Magda and Rudolf is definitely the film’s most memorable, and it continues to stir audiences to this very day. It is possible that it is because of the dancing in this sequence that Pola Negri was widely hailed as the “Polish Asta Nielsen” – in Aleksander Hertz’s 1917 effort “The Polish Dancer,” the actress’ only surviving Polish film, Negri performs a beguiling dance sequence that bears a striking resemblance to the one seen in “The Abyss.”
Paulina Haratyk
The film underwent digital restoration in 2005 at the Digital Filmlab in Copenhagen. Initially, the film was to be restored exclusively from a 1940 internegative made from a decomposing nitro print. However, the censored dance scene had been found in the archives of the Swedish national public broadcaster, SVT and very well-preserved erotic scenes were reestablished into the restored version.
Sun, Apr 22 | 2pm | Kino Iluzjon