Childhood friends love same woman. Marriage, passion, betrayal. Fate intervenes, leaving scars.

Clarence Brown's silent drama, Flesh and the Devil (1926), is an exploration of unspoken desire. Greta Garbo's character, femme fatale Fédora, uses her captivating gaze and subtle gestures to convey a whirlwind of emotions. This emphasis on visual storytelling prefigures the focus on imagery that would become a hallmark of avant-garde cinema.

Furthermore, the film's stark contrasts between light and shadow heighten the drama. The stark black and white cinematography emphasizes the internal struggles of the characters, particularly Fédora's manipulation and the men's simmering jealousy.

This use of light and shadow creates a sense of unease and foreshadows the German Expressionist movement's use of similar techniques to explore the dark side of the human psyche.

Although silent films relied on intertitles to convey plot points and dialogue, Flesh and the Devil minimizes their use. The focus is on the actors' expressions and body language, allowing the audience to interpret the characters' emotions and motivations. This prioritizes visual storytelling, a technique often employed by experimental filmmakers.

While adhering to a traditional narrative structure, Flesh and the Devil's focus on visuals, emotional ambiguity, and innovative use of light and shadow places it in conversation with the burgeoning experimental film movement.