Empathy Is the Devil: Employing Conventions and Themes of Early Cinema in Contemporary Practice

Abstract

Over the last decade, the international screen has witnessed a revival of silent cinema techniques. Eighty or so years after the advent of the talkies, titles such as France's The Artist (Hazanavicius, 2011), Spain’s Blancanieves (Berger, 2012), Australia's Dr. Plonk (de Heer, 2007), Portugal’s Tabu (Gomes, 2012) and Argentina’s La Antena (Sapir, 2007) have drawn on a palette of almost forgotten techniques to great effect. While each might be read as an homage to this foundational period in cinema history, the filmmakers’ objective has not been to remake silent films or to reject modern digital modes of filmmaking, but to reinvigorate the rich and varied ways by which stories may be told on film. Empathy Is the Devil is a 12.5-minute silent black-and-white film strongly featuring dance, the themes of which include addiction, mental health, and homelessness. The film’s protagonist, who is at odds with the modern world, suffers a curious addiction: a daily pressure to give to charity more than he can afford. He finds solace in a nostalgic past in which property is freely shared and wealth is not the ultimate goal.