Finis Terrae (1929) review

On the island of Bannec, which is close to Ushant, four fisherman spend a few select months of the year harvesting seaweed in order to burn it, but when one of them slices his thumb, becomes extremely ill and the nearby villagers notice there isn't as much smoke emitting from Bannec as usual, they deduce something's wrong and try to intervene.  Considering this is a silent from the late 20's, the restoration done on it is really crisp, showing off the sharp cinematography (and that angry sea with its ferocious waves), except it's not engaging or interesting as a feature: the casting of non-actors does give it a sense of authenticity, but it never seems like a whole lot is at stake and it's almost as if Epstein's trying to make a travelogue instead of a drama (it doesn't help that nothing is revealed about the men in the first place).  The soundtrack is lackluster as well (I opted not to switch it out for something else): it's eighty minutes of downbeat (and repetitive) music that could have been played at a long funeral procession.