Sunday, September 15, 2013

Silent Sundays: The Student of Prague (1926)



“Do you know what is wrong with him?”

            I must inform you, dear reader, that my mind is a muddled horrible place to be in right. Grad school is kicking my ass as usual and the semester only started two weeks ago. I am beyond crazy tired because I work all damn week and then stay up in north Jersey where I am completing my internship at the Fort Lee Museum (check out their website and the Fort Lee Film Commission’s website. I am way too tired and lazy to hyperlink). I am running on very little sleep and have been eating like utter shit. My body hurts and my brain hurts and I still have three more months to go! And my thesis to write! KILL ME NOW!!!
            Why did I just write that whole mess up informing you of my deteriorating mental health because it is effecting my movie viewing habits. I attempted to watch The Student of Prague but my ADHD kicked in (in all seriousness I suffer from it) and my tiredness kept kicking my ass and I barely paid attention to the film. I shall be writing about what I paid attention to and what I was able to get out of the story. If you happen to like The Student of Prague or have seen it and paid attention to it I sincerely apologize for this hot shit mess coming your way. Wait if you have seen and know what it is about TURN AWAY you should not be reading this in first place… but you can anyway. Prepare for the suck.
            A young student named Balduin (Conrad Veidt) is tired of following his fellow students in drinking and sword dueling (not that kind of sword dueling PERV! HEAD OUT OF THE GUTTER! I think my head is the one in the gutter… see how tired I am?). He wants love in his life. A shady character named Scapinelli comes to Balduin and tells the young man that he can make his wish come true for a small fee. Balduin wants nothing to do with the loan shark and turns the old man away.
            But Scapinelli is not satisfied with the student’s reply and puts events into motion himself. There is a contessa named Margit who lives in the area. Scapinelli sees she is riding horseback through some open field. He makes her horse go wild and uncontrollable and then goes to Balduin to tell him there is trouble with a runaway horse. Balduin saves Margit and for his heroic efforts she invites him to his house… at least I think that is what happens.
            Here is the part of the story that gets a little blurry to me…
            I think Margit’s father gives him money and it is a lot of money. Scapinelli comes into the picture again and wants some money as well the shady shit. Somehow I think Balduin gets to keep the money and he throws a party for all the poor students like him and the rest of the student body in his class. Margit comes by. Balduin is very happy to see her and asks her to dance. Margit, it turns out, has a fiancé, Baron Waldis. Waldis gets pissed that Margit wants to dance with another man. Sometime later Balduin sends a note to Margit that he would like to see her alone before she is married and Waldis comes in between them. They have a wonderful time out in a garden.
            Details, details, details. All those went over my head….
            This girl, who I believe is a beer maid from the beer garden the students went to, is jealous of Balduin’s affection for Margit. She found the letter he had written to Margit (details of how that came to be are gone) and she brings it all the way to Baron Waldis. Waldis now wants to duel with Balduin but he apparently does not know that Balduin is the best sword fighter in all of Prague. If course egos come into play, the men duel, and Balduin is expelled from school because there was no good reason given for the sword fight.
            Details, details, details…. Balduin goes kooky, something happens where he scares the shit out of Margit and that is the end.
            Wow, that had to be the worst write up ever. Sorry dear reader for the terribleness but I did warn you. You must be nucking futs yourself to have read to here.

            The Student of Prague bored me and I am tired (have you gotten the hint that all I wanna do is sleep?) and mixed with my ADHD kept me from focusing the film. I am very deeply sorry for this. If you would like to read better reviews in the future written by someone one who is not off their damn rocker I encourage anyone willing to help me write my thesis and do my homework to do. No takers… figures. Do not blame you. I do not even want to do life right now. Anyway, yeah, The Student of Prague, maybe go watch it if you are into silent films.
 

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