# 964

Very clever use of shadows -- they employ just about every shadow trick you can think of, including the cut-out silhouette play that Lotte Reiniger would use soon after in Prince Achmed. The film ends up being a statement on the persuasive power of images, and thus a reflexive comment on itself. Fritz Kortner's wild-eyed performance looks like Klaus Kinski trapped in Oliver Platt's body. The movie is paced too slowly, though, and feels sluggish throughout.