Film Forum

France, 1928
Directed by René Clair
With Pierre Batcheff, Jim Gérald, Véra Flory
Approx. 77 min. 4K DCP restoration.

“René Clair’s last feature-length silent, TWO TIMID SOULS begins with a courtroom scene that is a bravura example of silent film technique. A bumbling young lawyer (a wonderful Keaton-esque performance by Pierre Batcheff) is defending a client who is accused of beating his wife. As he describes his version of what happened, it plays out on the screen in all its ridiculous, convoluted glory, with escalating hilarity. The lawyer and his brutish client later become rivals for the hand of a shy young lady. Clair biographer Celia McGerr calls LES DEUX TIMIDES 'one of the most visually ambitious—and successful—films of the silent era.'” – The San Francisco Silent Film Festival