DbcultAccessing Vault...
7.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 7.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Laila remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
You should definitely watch this if you have a soft spot for massive landscapes and don't mind reading the occasional title card. It is perfect for anyone who likes a good *fish-out-of-water* story, but people who hate slow-burn silent dramas will probably find it a bit exhausting.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting this movie to be so huge. It feels like they spent half the budget just on renting reindeers. 🦌
The movie starts with a baby being lost in the snow during a wolf attack. It is actually pretty intense for 1929; you can see the sled flyin' across the ice and the little cradle just bouncing away.
Laila gets found by Aslag, a Sami leader, and she grows up thinking she’s one of them. Mona Mårtenson plays the adult Laila, and she has this very *specific* way of looking at the camera that makes you feel like she’s actually freezing.
There is this one scene where they are racing reindeers across a frozen lake. I kept wondering how they didn't crash the camera or kill a stuntman. It looks way more dangerous than anything in The Silent Flyer.
The landscapes are the real star here, though. Every shot of the mountains makes you want to put on a heavy sweater.
Laila eventually finds out she’s not actually Sami, and that’s where the drama kicks in. She’s got these two guys chasing her, and one of them is her cousin from the "settler" side of things.
The romantic stuff is fine, I guess, but it drags a little in the middle. I found myself waiting for them to go back outside into the snow. ❄️
There is a scene in a church that feels incredibly long. It reminded me of the stiff atmosphere in The Great Divide, where everyone is just standing around looking miserable for the sake of the plot.
I noticed a weird detail during the wedding preparations. One of the background actors is just staring directly at the lens for like five seconds. It’s distracting but also kind of funny once you see it.
The movie does a good job of not making one culture look "better" than the other. Usually, movies from this era are pretty biased, but here, the Sami life looks a lot more fun than the stuffy town life.
The pacing gets a bit weird toward the end. It feels like they had ten different endings and decided to just use bits of all of them.
I really liked the character of Jampa. He’s like this loyal protector who doesn't say much but does all the heavy lifting. Every movie needs a Jampa.
The way they filmed the wolves is still creepy. Even if they are just trained dogs in some shots, the editing makes them feel like monsters lurking in the dark.
If you’ve seen The New York Peacock, you know how some silents can feel really stagey. Laila is the opposite of that; it feels wide open and messy in a good way.
There’s a lot of drinking in this movie. Like, a lot. It seems like every time someone is sad or happy, they reach for a giant wooden bowl of something strong.
Some of the title cards are translated a bit strangely, but it adds to the charm. It feels like a real piece of history you just stumbled upon in a dusty basement.
I think the movie is about 20 minutes too long. By the time we got to the final big reconciliation, I was mostly just thinking about how cold those actors must have been during the shoot.
Still, it’s a beautiful film. It doesn't try to be smart; it just tries to be big and emotional, and it mostly works.
Don't expect a polished masterpiece. Expect a rugged, snowy adventure that probably smelled like wet fur and woodsmoke during production. 🪵
IMDb 5.5
1925
Community
Log in to comment.
