During the Balkan Wars, Sonia is a young woman living in Montenegro and left to care for her younger brother Milos and the family farm while elder brother Marko goes off to battle. Unable to handle the daily tasks following her brother’s tragic death, help comes in the form of Mahmud Hassan, a captured Turk nobleman, now a prisoner of war. Tasked with helping Sonia, their initial frosty relationship soon melts into romance. As the war rages on Sonia, Mahmud and Milos will face near-insurmountable obstacles in their quest for a better life amidst the hell of war.
Direction
DeMille already showing the epic scale he'd perfect later.
Acting
Blanche Sweet's eyes do what dialogue cannot.
Director
Cecil B. DeMille
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lost for decades, this was rediscovered in 2009 at the New Zealand Film Archive—one of the most significant silent film finds of the century.
The film was banned in several cities for its sympathetic portrayal of a Turkish character during WWI anti-Ottoman sentiment. DeMille loved controversy.
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