House of Cards

In this silent film, a man awakens in disarray in a rooming house. He gazes out the window, watching children play and a well-dressed man seated on a chair in the middle of the street reading a newspaper and looking up at him. A headline reports the murder of a child. The disheveled man, showing fear and despair on his face, leaves the room and moves through the city, growing increasingly alarmed whenever someone looks at him. A woman invites him to view through a public telescope, which he does before continuing on his way. He climbs a hill, where two fencers and a jester appear. The film ends with the question: Is flight fruitless?