A Page of Madness (1926)

"Kurutta "Ippeiji" is notable for several reasons. First, it is one of the few Japanese silent movies of the 1920's to survive. Second, unlike most silent films, it lacks intertitles/title/dialog cards because a narrator, who also acted out lines and situations is/was to be present in a Kabuki-style setting. Third, It's a low budget, avant garde movie where the cast is "doing a Roger Corman"; serving as production crew members between takes. The story: The husband of an asylum inmate has taken the job of janitor to watch over her. She dances on the stage of her mind, oblivious to…

griggs79

8.0

Mar 26, 2025

_A Page of Madness_ is silent, surreal, and visually arresting — a descent into something far murkier than mere madness. The asylum pulses with unease; inmates convulse in what appears to be seizures, captured through a lens that mistakes illness for delirium, reflecting a time when epilepsy and mental illness were indistinguishable. What unfolds is a profound exploration of madness and regret, less like a narrative and more like a disturbed memory — fractured, guilt-ridden, soaked in sorrow. There are no intertitles to guide you, no dialogue to hold onto — just disjointed, nightmarish imagery…