The World Cinema Series continues at The Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls with a FREE screening of silent Swedish classic, "The Phantom Carriage"!  Starring and directed by Victor Sjöström (who was a major influence on Ingmar Bergman). That is how I discovered this highly influential film was watching an Ingmar Bergman interview. He even cast Sjöström a couple of times (including his masterpiece, "Wild Strawberries" in 1957)!

This was based on a classic Swedish novel, "Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness!" by Selma Lagerlöf from 1912. The legend within the story is fascinating:  "the last person to die each year is doomed to drive the carriage and collect the souls of the dead for the next year." The last person to die on New Year's Eve happens to be Sjöström's character who is an alcoholic, abusive and bitter man. I will not spoil anymore. It's such an incredible and influential film! The flashbacks within the flashback narrative was something to new to cinema at the time and the special effects were groundbreaking for 1921.

As we're getting close to winding down another year, this is the perfect film to watch at year's end! A little bit melodrama, a bit of fantasy and some horror mixed in! It's definitely a film everyone should see at least once! Especially if you're a cinema fan!