a review of 笑面人

Once you get past the terribly racist premise of roma people kidnapping and disfiguring children for entertainment - especially maddening because that particular detail is totally inconsequential to the overall plot - there's tons to enjoy about this otherwordly, dark fairytale-like Paul Leni classic. Despite being an american production, this thing is bursting with german expressionist imagery mixed in with some early Universal gothic style. A heartbreaking performance by Conrad Veidt as a dude who can't erase the smile on his face, yet we get to witness a vast spectrum of emotion from our tormented main protagonist.