Josef Sváb-Malostranský smiles broadly then cries. He does this in tight close-up, with his face filling the entire screen.About the same time as this came out, George A. Smith was beginning his experiments in close-ups. He may have begun as early as a year before this movie. He may have begun after this movie came out. Potential key movies are missing, and the release date of a film may not be exact; fortunately that invaluable site."Who's Who Of Victorian Cinema" tells us this was first exhibited in June of 1898. How this relates to Smith's work would require far too much unsupported speculation on my part.