Though often sited as the first feature film, "The Birth of a Nation", was made two years after "The Mysterious X". This Danish made film is one of several feature length films that predate D.W. Griffith's benchmark movie of The Civil War. Released in 1914, this rarely seen tale of espionage, love and treason set in a Europe on the brink of war casts director Benjamin Christensen in a major role as Lt. van Hauen. As he prepares for impending war, the story revolves around his loving wife (Karen Caspersen), who has become the object of the unwanted attentions of a questionable count (Otto Reinwald). In part because human nature changes little, the fully satisfying drama engages on multiple and sophisticated levels. The plot turns on points of honor, loyalty to country, fidelity to family, and the treachery of greed and war. Though some of the cinematic devices will seem quaint, as in a technique resembling a huge stage whisper where the traitorous count hides in plain sight in the drawing room of the van Hauens, the emotionally satisfying screenplay has heart and timelessness. The visual style that clearly influenced German expressionist films that followed is pure pleasure to watch.

Hollywood's impact so dominates the collective conscienceness about movie making, at least in the United States, it is forgotten that even in the early years, cinematic ground was being broken in other countries as well. This first film from one of Denmark's finest filmmakers, it is one of Christensen's best. He used new techniques, such as the close-up, generously. He innovatively played with lighting, shooting into the sun, for example, to striking effect. Particularly compelling visually are the scenes of the opportunistic count as he becomes trapped, literally, by his own deceits and the escapades of the young son of the van Hauens as he attempts to aid his father. The wonderfully evocative black and white cinematography in a near perfect archival print will be presented at the Gene Siskel Film Center and accompanied by live piano by David Drazin. Enjoyable for much more than its historical significance, this pioneering work was influential in the later work of fellow Danes Carl Theodor Dreyer, and continues up to the present with Lars von Trier.