Pandora's Box

Saw Pandora's Box, an ambiguous silent film. Silent films have a bit of inherent ambiguity. Without sound, we don't know exactly what was said and in exactly what manner. This film embraces this concept to the hilt. Starring Louise Brooks as a woman who is either a whore or an ingenue, we follow her adventures deeper into misery. Much is unclear however. Is the old man hanging around her really her father, as she claims, or an old 'client' as she later claims? Is the Duchess who follows her simply her friend, or could it be that perhaps that whimsical dance was a bit more serious and that she is her lover? Is Brooks' fate justice, or a pathetic tragedy? The film is interesting in its ambiguity. This is the 30s however and a fishy ambiguity was sometimes the most that could be gotten away with. It's tempting to interpret everything in the most ribald, licentious way, but to do so loses the rich and queer-feeling ambiguity the film cultivates. A cute little mystery of a film.