Lili Beck

A bear tamer marries a dancer from a traveling circus. When his wife makes it big, will she forget about the man she fell in love with?

The Gardener is a 1912 Swedish silent drama film directed by Victor Sjöström. It is mostly known for being the first film to ever be banned by the Swedish censor system.

Do I Have the Right to Take My Own Life? - Its melodramatic story answers the question of the title with a resounding "No!". A young clerk, tempted by easy money, get involved in crooked financial dealings. When they go badly wrong, and exposure and disgrace loom, he takes his own life. Not only does his suicide plunge his wife into destitution, his own immortal soul will live in a different dimension, doomed to eternal torment.

The film follows a director shooting a modern version of the Icarus myth in an artistic environment.

Jørgen wants to propose to Marie as soon as he has been promoted and can offer her a proper home. Indeed, his future looks promising until his father, who is a bookkeeper in the town bank, tells Jørgen that he has embezzled and spent money from the bank. In order to uphold his father’s honour, Jørgen must raise the missing amount, and the only one he knows with that much ready money is his uncle, the canny merchant Ole Konge, whom his father detests.