Don't listen to the negative reviews

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Since he was a child Ulysses Farragut had been in love with the sea embodied in the legend of the beautiful Ampitetre. Against his fathers wishes he grows up to captain his own boat The Mare Nostrum but as blissful as his life on the waves is it takes him away from his family. When The War breaks out the lucrative business of shipping as a neutral nation (Spain) calls for even more of his time. While on a tour of ruins he meets a German spy who fulfills his childhood ideal. She seduces him and he in turn agrees to assist re-fueling U boats seeking military targets. His actions result in catastrophe however when it sinks a passenger ship. Haunted by guilt and the need to exact revenge Farragut pursues those responsible.Shot on location in Europe Mare Nostrum has an impressive look filled with the rich attention to detail that silent film director Rex Ingram and cameraman George Seitz (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) excelled at. Along with Von Stroheim he provided the era with the most lush and textured canvases and Mare Nostrum is a gallery of splendid landscapes, interiors and portraits to behold. Given its splendid look and fine chemistry and performances from Antonio Moreno and Alice Terry it moves along at a leisurely but absorbing pace. The supporting cast is also up to task with a trio of effective villains singling out Paquerette's Dr. Feldman. Its a pity that Ingram retired from directing at an early age, it would have been interesting to see more extensive sound work which he did only briefly. As far as cameraman Seitz he would go to work on a regular basis with legendary directors Preston Sturges and Billy Wilder in their peak. I'd say he's a lot more important to the history than given credit for.

Mare Nostrum (1926) *** (out of 4) Lavish MGM production takes a rather routine screenplay and turns it into something rather unique. Seaman Ulysses Ferragut (Antonio Moreno) falls for a woman (Alice Terry) who turns out to be a German spy and their relationship leads to one disaster after another. That's pretty much all you need to know in terms of story because there's no question that the main reason to check this out is the visual style. Even though the story is pretty routine, director Ingram at least pumps plenty of style and gives us some terrific visuals along the way. The film has our Captain being fixated on the sea goddess Amphitrite and this is the reason he ends up falling for the spy as the two look quite a bit alike. This obsession was one of the most interesting things about the screenplay and I must admit that I was pulled in by the "old ways" involving the mysterious of the sea and the various folk tales that are brought into the film. One of the best moments happens at the very start of the film when we see some items at the bottom of the sea. This certainly isn't anything we haven't seen in earlier films but Ingram shows it in such a striking way that it's very memorable. The same is true of the ending, which I won't ruin but there's no question the image is perfectly filmed. Some of the stuff goes a tad bit too far into melodrama including the relationship between the Captain and his wife. There's also a German officer that's a tad bit too silly and it's made even worse by the fact that it's played by an Erich von Stroheim look-alike. I'm sure had Erich been on good terms with the studio then he would have been playing the part. I do wonder why the studio and director cast someone like they did as I'm sure folks in 1926 saw the resemblance. As far as the performances go Terry clearly steals the film. She's extremely passionate, sexual and dramatic so she perfectly captures whatever it is she needs to do. I thought she really brought her character to life and managed to easily steal the film. Moreno is pretty much forgotten today but at the time he was Valentino's rival. His looks probably brought the majority of the women to the film but he turned in a nice performance. There's no question that the screenplay isn't the greatest but the cast and especially Ingram make this something a lot better than it would have been in lesser hands.

Ulysses (handsome Antonio Moreno) owns a boat called the Mare Nostrum. He also has an uncaring wife but a son Estaban (Mickey Brantford) whom he loves. An evil, sexy German spy Freye (Alice Terry) seduces Ulysses and convinces him to help bring supplies to a German sub. He does and the sub ends up destroying a ship that Estaban is on. Ulysses vows to kill all the people responsible.This silent film was believed lost for many years. Thankfully it's been found and beautifully restored. Basically, this is a tragedy so it's hardly a happy film but still it's extremely well-made and directed by Rex Ingram, one of the best silent film directors. There are some very amusing miniature ships and subs in some sequences, but this WAS 1926--that's probably the best they had! The acting is good too. Moreno was a very popular star in his day--sadly, he's forgotten today. He's good-looking and gives one hell of a performance--some of his reaction shots were incredibly good. Terry was obviously hired because she was married to director Ingram, but she was a good actress and she's good here. She was cast against type playing an evil woman (she usually played the good girl) and she pulls it off. Her scene in front of the firing squad is just great. And young Brantford is very good as Estaban. The only bad thing was Caragol (Hughie Mack)--an obese man who provides unfunny comic relief. And it DOES have a silly ending.Still, a great silent film. Well worth catching.

This is a first-rate WWI spy film, shot on location in Pompeiiand elsewhere; the story is gripping and the details ofcharacter are finely thought out. It was shown to great acclaimat AMMI and Pordenone. I provided a piano score in eachvenue