Budapest Classics Film Marathon 2026 | China Film Archive Classic Film Festival 2026 | Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) 2026
This silent film (with synchronised sound) follows a farmer tempted by a woman from the city, who persuades him to drown his wife and start a new life with her. Unable to carry out the plan, he reconciles with his wife during a trip to the city. On their return, a storm overturns their boat, and the wife disappears. Believing she is dead, the farmer is overcome with grief. When news arrives that she has survived, he rushes to her side. Their reunion offers hope of forgiveness, love and a fresh beginning.
German writer-director F. W. Murnau pioneered silent cinema with Nosferatu in 1922, The Last Laugh (1924) and Faust (1926). In Hollywood, he directed Sunrise, 4 Devils and City Girl, before making Tabu in Bora Bora.
San Francisco Film Preserve
