The Cigarette

Germaine Dulac's 1919 French film follows a museum director who believes his wife is unfaithful. He places a poisoned cigarette in the box on his desk; he does not know when he will smoke it and leaves the moment of his death to chance. The idea is jealousy turning on itself. The man punishes not his wife but himself; the waiting supplies all the tension and the audience sees the box in every scene. Dulac was among the first women directors of the silent era and was later counted among the founders of French impressionist cinema. In this early film the attempt to convey a state of mind through the image is pronounced; interior condition is given through set and light. Who it's for: those curious about silent cinema and the early work of women directors. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a modern narrative pace; the film is bound to the acting and editing language of the silent era.