The Dying Swan

In Moscow in 1917, Gizella (Vera Karalli), a young woman who cannot speak, has just been abandoned by her playboy lover. Yevgeni Bauer follows her into a ballet company, where one performance of "The Dying Swan" catches the eye of Viktor (Vitold Polonsky), a painter who has spent years trying to paint death as it truly looks. On the dim stage a single dancer lifts her arms, and the audience watches her fold.