This is a lot more than a simple melodrama. It has elements of fantasy like "It's a Wonderful Life" or "A Matter of Life and Death". Although the drama on the surface is possible, the coincidences are so improbable that one senses a moving hand and that things are not as they seem. The film takes on the sheen of a lucid dream. There are allegorical elements, for example, the little girl made an orphan by the Nazis and forced to flee. She stands for all suffering Europe in the shadow of that terrible war, which had just ended. One can simply accept the surface story, or dig deeper for its meaning. One thing is certain, there is no way a simple melodrama would carry such a feeling of emotional weight and genuine pathos, in the Greek sense.
The acting is wonderful. Orson Welles gives one of his great performances. It is so strange that one never hears of this film. I just happened to catch it on TCM and to say I was startled, would be an understatement.
This is why we love movies.
The acting is wonderful. Orson Welles gives one of his great performances. It is so strange that one never hears of this film. I just happened to catch it on TCM and to say I was startled, would be an understatement.
This is why we love movies.