La Bergère d'Ivry (1913)
Directed by Maurice Tourneur

Film Review

La Bergère d'Ivry is an early silent short film by Maurice Tourneur, one of the great auteurs of French cinema whose work is now sadly overlooked.  It is in fact one of the last films that Tourneur made in his native France before moving to America where he set up his own film production company and rapidly acquired the reputation of one of the world's leading cineastes, through such films as A Doll's House (1918) and The Last of the Mohicans (1921). Whilst it may lack the sophistication and artistry of Tourneur's later films, La Bergère d'Ivry is a charming little piece which tells a simple story with understated lyricism.  The film includes one of Tourneur's earliest uses of shadow play to suggest menace - the disturbing shot where François is considering how to avenge his betrayal.  Shadows feature a great deal in Tourneur's work - most notably his dark fantasy La Main du diable (1943) - providing an effective visual metaphor for the darker side of human nature and a representation of those unseen external forces which determine our destinies, as in the work of the German expressionists and subsequent film noir. Tourneur's son Jacques would use the same device in many of his best films, including Cat People (1942).

Film Synopsis

Aimée, an attractive young shepherdess, cannot conceal her gratitude when Hortense Fauvel, the kindly wife of the village postmaster, offers her a job as a housemaid in her house.  It is not long before the girl finds an admirer in the Fauvel's faithful servant, François, and they soon decide to get married.  But before they can tie the knot Fate throws them a nasty surprise.  It happens on the day of a fête hosted by the Count of Granval.  Unbeknown to the postmaster, the count intends taking advantage of this distraction so that he can have a romantic tryst with his wife.

Aimée is horrified when she hears of this.  Fearful of the scandal that may befall her benefactor, she tells the postmaster that it is she, not Hortense, who has been carrying on an affair with the count.  Of course, this admission results in Aimée losing her job, but what she hadn't expected was how badly François would take the news.  He recalls that, on the day of the fête, his sweetheart gave him a knife, telling him to kill her if ever she should prove unfaithful to him.  Embittered, François considers whether he should do as Aimée instructed and slay the one who has broken his heart...