Considered a lost film until 1986, when itturned up in Sao Paolo and was subsequently restored in Germany, K?pfende Herzen is Fritz Lang in theserialesque vein of Spies and Dr. Mabuse. Already in evidence here is Lang's passion for technique, from thefilm's circular opening shot to its multiplicity of intrigues, presented in a daring use of flashbacks; and foratmosphere, with an underworld milieu populated by thieves, gamblers and assorted grotesques, juxtaposedto the "respectable" world of a wealthy specultor and his bride. The two milieus cross when thespeculator, Yquem (Ludwig Hartau), while buying a jewel for his wife, Florence (Carola Tr, espiesamong the fences and shady salesmen a man who resembles a portrait he has seen in his wife's room. Whatunfolds is the hitherto unknown story of Florence's past, told in a Rashoman-like series of parallelflashbacks. In this complex unfolding, we are presented with one of Lang's chief preoccupations: thefundamental unreliability of the image-a labyrinth of guilt reinforced by mise-en-sc?ne and framing inwhich what we see is continually placed in doubt.