A Film Canon

Despite being hailed as a masterpiece of Swedish Expressionism, The Phantom Carriage is more notable for its stately naturalism, which tends to supersede its more supernatural, melodramatic elements. Even the self-consciously spectacular special effects are subordinated to their narrative significance, with the two protagonists spending so much time in the spirit world that their superimposed ghostliness is gradually normalised. This patient detachment provides Sjöström with sufficient directorial power to elegantly and coherently embed four narratives within each other, all of which relate to an old Swedish legend which holds that the last person to die on New Year's Eve must drive the chariot of death for the next year. Unfortunately, Sjöström continues to complicate the timeline beyond what is tenable for the silent medium. Admittedly, the atmosphere provides some compensation for the resultant narrative confusion: haunting, long shots of faces, as well as distinctly Scandinavian contrasts between warm, brightly lit interiors and blue-tinted, wintry exteriors. However, the erosion of the precise distinctions between characters tends to undermine the parable-like dimension of the film, which depends upon those distinctions.