Don't expect to see a masterpiece of the silent era nor one of the finest works directed by Ernst Lubitsch when you'll watch "Sumurun". This film is very far from wonders such as "The shop around the corner" or "To be or not be". It is one of those oriental fantasies that would blossom in those days, with a story which is everything but believable and with an international cast which is everything but exotic. And yet... the film has its charm, for it was filmed with taste (the sets are amazing, obviously inspired by Moorish architecture like the Alhambra of Granada and the mosque of Córdoba) and nevertheless well directed. Pola Negri was then at the height of her beauty and her performance is truly an erotic one. The rather complex narrative is about a pair of lovers (Zuleika/Sumurun, one of the numerous concubines of a sheik, and Nur-al-Din, a handsome merchant) and also two sheiks (Sumurun's master and his son) who both covet the same young dancer (played by Pola Negri). There are moments of pure comedy and the (partly) dramatic end comes with a surprise, as for during more than an hour and a half, all the mix-ups and unlikely situations don't prepare the viewer for a sad ending.
Review of Sumurun
