''The Little Match Seller'' is a 1902

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silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, directed by James Williamson, retelling the classic 1845

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fable of the sad life and tragic death of a little match seller. This major fiction film of the period was, according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, "a serious attempt at depicting a person's inner emotional life on film through purely visual means (there is no onscreen text of any kind), using trick effects not to provoke laughter but for serious dramatic reasons."

Review

BFI Screenonline reviewer Michael Brooke states that the film, "shows a similar interest in the plight of the downtrodden," but is, in most other respects, "a very different type of film" than the director's ''A Reservist, Before the War and After the War'' and ''The Soldier's Return'' (both 1902), which "were inspired by the experience of soldiers returning from the only recently concluded Boer War." This film "is a very faithful adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's 1846 fable (which is brief enough to suggest that the original could have been read aloud during screenings) and, instead of the other films' scrupulously ''realistic'' presentation, Williamson here resorts to numerous special effects, mostly in the form of superimpositions." "However, these are entirely true to the spirit of the original story, whose dramatic and emotional centerpiece is the series of ''visions'' seen by the little match seller when striking matches to keep warm," and the film, "is as ambitious and innovative as ''A Reservist''." The director, he concludes, "would continue to explore this new ground in later films such as ''The Old Chorister'' (1904)."

References

External links

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''The Little Match Seller''
from the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Match Seller, The 1902 films British black-and-white films British silent short films Films about death Films based on The Little Match Girl Films directed by James Williamson (film pioneer) Articles containing video clips British drama films 1902 drama films Silent drama films