Michael

Remarkable for its three leads (the director of Haxan and the barely recognisable future stars of Lifeboat and La Règle du jeu) and its near-explicit treatment of homosexual desire, this account of a love triangle (a painter, his muse/adopted son and a Russian princess) finds Dreyer using the claustrophobic, ornate interiors of the artist's home to Expressionist effect. With its array of ambiguous yet revealing looks and gestures, the film - shot by the dream-team of Karl Freund and Rudolph Maté - offers an unflinching but deeply humane look at blind passion and cool betrayal.

With live piano accompaniment by Andrew Youdell on Sat 10 Mar and John Sweeney on Wed 14 Mar.