A damsel in distress grows up into a strong independent warrior who slaughters sexist war-hungry pigs for breakfast.

Unfortunately, that metamorphosis happens off screen, but it is pretty funny to watch her aimlessly fly and teleport (preceded by a puff of smoke) back into the plot while her mentor scrambles around on foot behind her in a desperate attempt to catch up. There were many occasions where I couldn't help thinking that it would have been incredible to see back when this technology was still new and surprising.

The version I watched included the original score performed by Devil Music Ensemble that was premiered in 2008 and let me tell you it greatly heightened the experience. The surviving copy of this film is cropped strangely, cutting off important pieces of the characters and the intertitles, and the video seems to constantly dance like it's being viewed through the steam of a summer heatwave.

As with most old film, I'm surprised that more of it isn't washed out by now, but perhaps the fuzzy quality has spared us from having to think too hard about the unsavory details that would be frowned upon today. I'm no expert on some of these character choices (the most obvious one being the fake teeth), so I really can't say.

The limitations of the medium do require modern audiences to suspend their disbelief on quite a few occasions:

~ Terrified villagers run back and forth along one stretch of road like chickens with their heads newly liberated from their bodies.

~ Warlords, henchmen, and concubines painfully slouch their way up and down that same palace staircase countless times and absolutely no one looks like they know where they're going while doing it.

~ Subtlety rarely comes through in silent film, so the characters either act with exaggerated full body emotions or look like they aren't acting at all as they amble along following orders they don't appear to understand.

~ Escaping characters waste time walking in useless circles around a room before leaving the frame.

This last nitpick is just a personal thing, but I'm not a fan of actors running up to the camera and putting it in their mouths (or near enough to it). It thankfully only happens twice and may be a cool shot for some effect, but I don't need to see that and would prefer not to.

All that being said, the ending gave me strong "since I can't marry her, my cousin will have to do it for me" vibes and I will take that to my grave.