There has never been an artist quite like Buster Keaton, and I doubt that we will see anyone like him ever again – and with each passing film of his that I watch, I become more assured of this, which has essentially become a sacrosanct fact by this point, and one that very few have been able to legitimately rebut. Every one of his twelve directorial outings is acclaimed in its way. I have found so much appreciation for his work over the years – but perhaps my favourite work he’s done (or at least the one that I’ve been compelled to return to more than the others) is The Navigator, in which Keaton plays a wealthy young man who decides to take a trip to Honolulu, not aware that he has made quite an unfortunate mistake in the form of boarding the wrong ship, which only has one other passenger, which so happens to be his love interest with whom he proposed taking this trip before she rejected his offer. Their seemingly perfect journey takes a dark turn when it is revealed that they are actually on a vessel that has been sold to a country amid a major war, leading our heroes to scramble to find a way out – but when you are trapped on the open seas, any kind of escape seems entirely futile. An ingenious and daring work that is as compelling as it is well-crafted, The Navigator could legitimately claim one of Keaton’s true, near-perfect masterpieces, both in terms of its form and execution, both of which are extremely important in developing its core identity and establishing Keaton as one of the great artists of his generation, a fact that has become almost impossible to dispute, especially when we can witness the incredible artistry woven into every moment of this brilliant, engaging film that may have been produced over a hundred years ago, but remains a truly exceptional piece of cinema that has aged better than the majority of comedies made in recent years.

As with many of his films, Keaton is aiming for the class system, which he does through a very creative and genuinely very charming satire, one that is consistently offbeat and very rarely aims for the low-hanging fruit, instead choosing to go for the commentary that is slightly more subversive, but not any less compelling. The film essentially centres on someone who comes from living a life where he perpetually had a silver spoon in his mouth, but the moment he is confronted with adversarial conditions, he’s forced to become heroic, something that he didn’t expect, but which he instead has to adapt to as his reality. It’s a very charming concept, and a relatively firm foundation on which Keaton can construct quite a daring statement on the ignorance of the upper class and their inability to see beyond their privilege, which can cause complications when they’re faced with challenging situations. The Navigator is not a plot-driven film, and its themes are certainly shallow compared to some other works produced at the time, but its nonetheless still very entertaining, with the subtle allusions situated right at the heart of the film leading to some fascinating observations that drive the narrative and make it quietely much more complex than we would have expected at the start, particularly since we don’t always expect Keaton to make such astute commentary on common themes. It’s unexpectedly quite poignant in places that we’d not anticipate – there are some moments that feel genuinely emotionally resonant in a way we don’t often expect from a slapstick comedy, but this only enriches the film and makes it a lot more surprising than we’d anticipate based on a cursory glance. 

As much as we can wax poetic about the themes at the heart of the film, no one is going to watch The Navigator with the primary intention of seeing the director’s observations on class and social strata. Instead, we’re intrigued by the prospect of seeing yet another delightfully irreverent slapstick comedy from perhaps the finest to ever work in the genre (and unquestionably the master of action-oriented humour), and this film contains some of Keaton’s most iconic and memorable stunts. The image of our esteemed protagonist in a diving suit is one of the most indelible sights in film history, and outside of his famous porkpie hat, it’s by far the most memorable depiction of him that we have. However, as with any of his films, what we are interested in isn’t merely the iconography, but also what occurs around them – and this film contains some awe-inspiring moments that only further emphasise what a master of his craft Keaton was, and how he continued to find ways to surprise us when we often least expect it. Despite being made over a century ago, there are stunts in The Navigator that could not only rival the work being done in contemporary action films but easily overtake them, both in terms of scope and meaning behind them. Keaton’s incredible physicality was never wasted on merely efforts to showcase his skill, since he always put them to good use – his stunts complemented the narrative, rather than the story being built around his inherent talents, which has been the reason slapstick has essentially faded as a popular genre as time has progressed. It’s very well-made, and his direction (which he did in conjunction with co-director Donald Crisp) is smart, sleek and always draws our attention to the smaller details, which ultimately tend to make the most substantial and meaningful difference in our relationship with this film and its fascinating, daring ideas.

As both a director and actor, Keaton was an absolute master – and while it may not compare to films like Steamboat Bill Jr. and Three Ages in terms of being an acting achievement, his performance is nonetheless strong. It does help that he’s not yet nestled into playing hapless, down-on-their-luck eccentrics quite yet, but still manages to portray someone who is effortlessly likeable through his constant ability to get into precarious situations through his absent-minded nature, and get himself (and others) out of them through a combination of skill, resourcefulness and dumb luck. His stone-faced demeanour is always entertaining to see, and we find that so much of this film is driven by his incredible curiosity and ability to draw our attention through the smallest and most seemingly insignificant of cues, which grow into very charming depictions of quite an unconventional protagonist. Keaton is not the only memorable star of the film – Kathryn McGuire is a delight as his love interest (and is far more feisty and well-developed than the more one-dimensional damsels in distress that we often find in these films), and Frederick Vroom is a tremendous villain. Keaton does not get enough credit for essentially establishing the core comedic trio of the hero, the heavy and the love interest that exists between them, which is a core narrative structure that many works from across the comedy genre have attempted to recreate, but have not always struck the right chords in the same way as Keaton. We also have an additional, and somewhat unconventional, supporting player in the form of the titular ship – Keaton and Crisp make sure to explore quite literally every corner of this vessel, using it to the point where it is as much a character as the actors, adding such a unique sensibility to the film that we can certainly appreciate much more when we realise just how masterful and moving some of the moments in this film are when we see them in practice.

There comes a point when watching any work by someone like Keaton (which does extend to some of his notable peers, albeit not quite as much) where we realise that these are films made over a century ago – and while they certainly do have the look, there are elements in them that are borderline revolutionary, even by contemporary standards. The Navigator is a film that even the most acclimated of viewers will find staggering – the sheer ingenuity that goes in every frame is astonishing, and provides us with more than enough proof that Keaton is not just a remnant of the past, but rather a thoroughly daring, provocative genius whose work remains stellar even to modern viewers. This film moves at the unique tempo we have come to expect from his work – it packages an astonishing amount of plot into a very short amount of time, and yet neither feels overstuffed or unnecessarily dense, being a delightfully irreverent, upbeat blend of action, adventure and comedy that is only possible when done by someone who is as incredibly gifted as Keaton, a director who has never once faltered in his pursuit of excellence and entertainment, The Navigator being one of the great exemplifications of his stunning, undeniable talents and ability to entirely redefine the cinematic form, even when it was still in its infancy.