Eine Frau von Format (1928) - A lot of staring and big hats

If you're digging through the archives of 1920s German stuff, Eine Frau von Format is... well, it’s a choice. 📽️

It is probably for the folks who like seeing Mady Christians look really, really disappointed at people in suits.

If you hate silent movies where people stand around in giant rooms for ten minutes doing nothing, stay away.

I watched this late on a Tuesday and honestly, the way the lighting hits the silver tea sets is more interesting than half the plot. ☕

It’s about this woman, played by Christians, who basically has to navigate a world of stuffy men who think they know better than her.

Classic Weimar vibes, but less Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and more 'I have a very expensive hat and a secret.'

There is a moment about twenty minutes in where a guy, I think it was Peter C. Leska, just stares at a door.

He stares for so long I thought my player had frozen or the internet died.

But no, he was just... emoting? Or maybe he forgot his next move and the director liked the tension.

It’s one of those silent films that feels like it’s trying to be as elegant as The Perfect Woman but with way more sighing.

Mady Christians is great, obviously. She has this way of moving her eyes that makes you feel like you're the one who messed up the dinner reservations.

The hats in this movie are massive. Like, distractingly big. 👒

I spent at least five minutes wondering how she kept her balance in that one scene in the garden near the fountain.

Speaking of the garden, the film quality there is pretty rough, lots of scratches on the print I saw.

It adds a bit of charm, I guess, like looking at an old postcard that's been through a washing machine twice.

The plot gets a bit messy near the end because too many characters show up at once.

I forgot who the guy with the mustache was half the time, and there are like three guys with the same mustache.

It reminds me a bit of All for a Husband but way more German and serious about its feelings.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Eine Frau von Format (1928) through its definitive frames.

There’s a weirdly specific shot of a letter being opened that takes forever. We see the envelope, the letter opener, the paper, the ink... ✉️

We get it, she’s reading a letter! We don't need the ASMR version of it from 1928.

But then the movie speeds up and suddenly everyone is at a party and I'm not sure how we got there so fast.

It’s not quite as weird as Felix Monkeys with Magic, but it has its moments of 'why is this happening?'

The music on the version I saw was this tinkly piano that didn't really match the mood at all.

It sounded too happy when she was clearly having a social crisis about her reputation.

I think Hedwig Wangel steals the few scenes she's in. She has a face that looks like she’s smelled something bad but is too polite to say anything.

Diana Karenne shows up too, but she feels a bit wasted here, like she's just waiting for the scene to end.

Is it a masterpiece? Nah, probably not. But it’s a nice window into 1928 Berlin style.

The sets are gorgeous in that way only old movies can be—everything looks like it's made of heavy wood and velvet.

If you've seen Miss Me Again, you might find this a bit slower. Actually, it's much slower.

But if you like the texture of old film and actors who know how to use a cigarette holder like a weapon, give it a go.

I mostly liked it because it didn't try to explain every single emotion with a title card. Sometimes a lady just looks sad in a big hat and that’s enough for me.

Check it out if you’re bored and want to feel 'cultured' without actually having to read a book or something.

Anyway, it's better than Who's Cheating? which I watched last week and found totally annoying.

Just don't expect it to change your life or anything. It’s just a vibe. 🎬

One last thing—the way they filmed the dining room makes it look about three miles long. I wonder if they had to shout to be heard on set.

The ending is... fine? It kind of just stops. It’s very 1920s that way. No big explosions, just people figuring their stuff out.