The Phantom Carriage

A husband and father in the grip of a terrible addiction is shown the error of his ways during a midnight ride with the grim reaper. A tour-de-force of nonlinear storytelling and a showcase of deft in-camera double-exposures, Sjöström’s drama about redeeming the unredeemable is part of the film canon for good reason and has influenced filmmakers from Ingmar Bergman to Stanley Kubrick. Never once does the great Sjöström, who also stars, let his virtuosity as director or actor overwhelm emotional truth.