The Kreutzer Sonata (1926) - Gustav Machat

Here's a rarity in Czech film, luxury. For the first, and as of now only time I've seen protaganists that are very clearly in the upper class. This appears like it might be a Lubitsch-esque tale of marital infidelity if it didn't take itself too seriously. Unfortunately it does take itself too seriously. The tale utilizes the all too familiar prologue and epilogue of the story within a story. This story is about a man driven by an insane jealousy to kill his philandering wife. Despite the wife proclaiming innocence throughout, her husband tells the story as a defeated, bitter, and broken man. When the film begins he is the epitome of the 1920's socialite, and his surroundings could just as easily come from Hollywoood. As the film progresses, he settles down, and his once demure wife becomes the raging party animal. A double standard of types applies here, and proves fatal. A little heavy handed and melodramatic, but definitely a curiosity considering the nation it came from.