(1919, Dir. Robert Wiene)
I watched this movie by myself in a very dark room in the middle of the night. Do not watch this movie by yourself in a very dark room in the middle of the night. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari follows the story of a man named Franzis who had a few bad run-ins with a somnambulist named Cesare and said somnambulist's "master" a while back, ultimately ending with the somnambulist's master putting Franzis in an insane asylum. Or at least, I think that was the plot of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. To be honest, I was pretty confused. But I think you were supposed to be. Caligari is a disorienting film, by nature. The spooky, mysterious characters, with their bizarre makeup, are hard to read. The expressionist-style, fanciful sets add an extra layer to decode in every scene. And the story plays out as a mystery, but not one that is ever completely solved. When I read "The End", my head was still spinning. And I do think that was by design. When this film came out, WWI had just ended, and Germany was in total disarray. The sense of confusion created in Caligari reflects the state of the country at the time. I can't tell if I liked this movie. It weirded me out. But I know it was good, and it was important. The sets and costumes were magnificent. The actor's performances were chilling. The camera techniques engaged me and terrified me (I can't remember exactly when, but I almost jumped out of my seat at one point). So, 8.5/10 Books about Dr. Caligari (who was he really, anyway?).
1 Comment
Nice job on your descriptive, interpretive, and evaluative claims. You have a fun tone and I think you are aware of that. The big danger (and I'm guilty of it as well!) is that complete informality can detract from the validity of your writing. Right now, you are doing just fine.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorEileen here, writing reviews for film class. Archives
April 2018
Categories |