Lusts of Mankind

The director Rudolf Meinert recounted this story in 1929: “I had in my hands a story which interested me very much. The feminine character was a cocaine addict mother ready to do anything to keep her daughter from falling into the same vice. In a word, a terrific part, made to measure for Asta Nielsen, the one and only able to interpret such a role. The journalists talked about her definitive retirement, but I had no intention of surrendering. And when we met, Asta already had clear ideas about the character-the character was created by her. An extraordinary woman, with a sensitivity that flowed from the tips of her fingers, she came into the world to make those films she made. Laster der Menschheit was shot in almost absolute silence, and in complete calm, at least as much as could be expected with her character, capable in certain moments of literally exploding. I almost don’t remember having directed this film. She was the director.” (condensed, from the Pordenone Film Festival catalog) —http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu