LANG'S DESTINY: (JP/Nauval Yazid)

It was a tale not unlike others -- separated lovers, a twist of fate and fascinating travels blended in melancholic, dramatic, comi, and at times terrifying, scenes.

Except that, unlike other performances at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ), this was a silent film, accompanied by a live orchestra that brought its scenes to life.

Over two successive nights -- Wednesday and Thursday this week -- Jakarta's film buffs got the opportunity to see a silent film screening of Fritz Lang's 1921-released Destiny (Der M*de Tod), accompanied by the 24-piece Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Pierre Oser.

Despite the rarity of such a screening in the capital, the concept has actually been staged several times in the past here -- but not as effectively, as they were all held in public shopping malls.

It is no doubt then that GKJ was a far better location; equipped to transport present audiences to yesteryear, where the focus was on pure storytelling without being upstaged by sophisticated technology and special effects.

Steering clear of cheery and dopey themes * la Vaudeville shows and early Hollywood silent films, Lang presents his film with a more immediate effect. Cutting off introduction scenes, he immediately sets the scene of a newlywed couple (Lil Dagover and Walter Janssen) embarking on their honeymoon.

The couple's journey goes awry when the bride discovers that her new husband is missing, and instead, finds a stoic man dressed in a black robe (played in a consistent heartless manner by Bernhard Goetzke). The man turns out to be the Angel of Death, who comes to take the married man's life.

The supposedly simple task is delayed when the new widow asks for a chance to save her husband. Her faith in believing that "love is stronger than death" eventually moves the seemingly ruthless Death.

The widow is given three chances: Symbolized by three flickering candles, she is required to save three lives that Death is to take in three different countries.

As the film progresses, three different short films on unrequited loves unfold, in which the three actors play the leading roles in each story.

The similar endings in each story have the potential to end the whole film on a downbeat note, but Lang decides to prolong the film for a few moments and provides a twist that leaves a little smile on the faces of his audience.

While the concept of "love is stronger than death" is interpreted with overbearing philosophical notes in the works of some of Lang's followers -- such as Woody Allen's Love and Death, and a much more obvious imitation of Death's appearance in Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film The Seventh Seal -- here Lang offers a direct and almost literal approach.

The wife character finds the concept when reading the Bible, and Lang simply plays around with the words. Hardly any method acting is apparent in the film.

The key to the film is its simplicity, which, on the night of the Jakarta screening, was captured beautifully by conductor Pierre Oser. Creating an altogether new score for the film, Oser accentuated the film without falling into traps of ethnicity in the film's three divided stories.

In the first story, set in Baghdad, Oser opted for lesser tabla and drum sounds typical of Arabian music. Meanwhile, in the second story, set in Vienna, operatic music synonymous with the country was not heard, which otherwise would have led the film in a different direction.

Oser's choice for more straightforward orchestral notes was more obvious in the third segment, set in China, where traditional Chinese string sounds were absent and replaced by more modern strings.

The result was simply magical; without being upstaged by the presence of the conductor himself, who showed up in a very relaxed and casual manner, undisturbed by the constant clicking of cameras from enthusiast audience members.

One minor flaw of the screening is the film's English subtitles: The remastered DVD recording of the film opted for Edwardian fonts, as often seen in transcripts from early films. As such, the words were barely readable when projected on the big screen. Fortunately, the Indonesian subtitles, despite a few noticeable errors, were clear all the way to the end.

However, when words failed to amuse, the film and the gorgeous sounds of the orchestra certainly worked their charms.

i-box

Fritz Lang's Destiny with Pierre Oser and the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra will be screened at Taman Budaya Bandung on May 17, and at Taman Budaya Yogyakarta on May 21.

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