Tonight's movie was a classic from the Silent Era : "Sunrise" (1927), directed by the legendary F.W. Murnau of German Expressionist fame. I'd been meaning to see "Sunrise" for many years now, perhaps a decade, after first watching the director's "Nosferatu" and then later on his lesser known works "Faust" and "The Last Laugh". Early on, I had wanted to buy a copy of "Sunrise", but for a while it was hard to find, an expensive collector's item. Then as the years passed, it simply went on the cinematic back burner, not forgotten but pushed aside by the ever changing vagaries of my viewing habits. You know me, I watch almost a movie a night, recently well over 200 a year, and I go on binges. Sometimes I'll watch Westerns for months on end, or Film Noir. Then I'll get stuck on Judy Garland or John Wayne for a week or two, or Steve McQueen or Barbara Stanwyck. It the early days of Criterion and all during the years of the CSUN Cinematheque I tried to see as many great foreign films as I could get my hands on. I'm constantly searching for movies, anything and everything (except Sandler, Schwarzenegger, DeVito, et al, you know my slogan), and so over the course of sixteen years of dvd watching, there have been several films I've been intent on seeing that I never got around to for one reason or another. "Sunrise" was one of those films, until tonight.
I'm afraid I won't be comfortable revealing too much about the plot. I know that I usually go into great detail, but that is because we are often watching films with complex storylines. We watch a lot of films from the golden era of screenwriting, when a talented writer could pack a truckload of story, and multiple threads, into an 80 or 90 minute movie. With "Sunrise", we are dealing with a very simple story, not because Murnau or his collaborators are incapable - far from it - but because they are presenting us with a moral fable rather than an everyday plot. As the title cards put it at the beginning of the film, "this is a song of a man and his wife, of any place or no place".
It's a story of human nature that could befall anyone, if his or her guard was down, or if he or she were feeling dissatisfied in life.
Let me see how much I can describe without giving too much away.
A farmer and his wife live in the mountains, near a vacation resort popular with travelers. The location could be Europe, but it was actually shot at Big Bear Lake, right here in Southern California. One vacationer, whom you might call a Modern Woman of the 1920s, has remained at her cabin for weeks past the usual Summer term of most visitors. I will tell you that she is staying on because she has her eyes on the farmer, whom she spies around the village. He is a handsome hunk, played by the future star George O'Brien. A flashback shows that he has had a happy marriage, for the most part, but that work on the farm and a newly arrived baby have caused a strain of the affection between him and his wife, who is played by Janet Gaynor, one of the earliest of female film stars.
There you have the basic plot, or possible plot since I don't wish to give it away. You have a farmer and his wife, living a simple existence and raising their baby, and you have this woman from the city, vacationing nearby with temptation on her mind.
The film gets to the point very quickly without much preamble, which leads to a highly dramatic first act. This is followed by a long interlude which takes up about half the film. In watching this second act, you begin to wonder if the plot is going to resume, because as I say, it is a very long, continuous sequence of events in which there is more or less no conflict or drama.
But then you begin to appreciate what it is that Murnau is doing, which is letting the pictures do the talking. The entire middle sequence, running about 45 minutes, takes us away from the countryside and into a modern city, with amazing art deco structures enhanced by Expressionist sets. As we tour cafes, shops and what looks like an indoor amusement park, our mood is gradually lifted along with that of the characters. One reviewer referred to it as "visual poetry" and that is an apt description. Poems don't always have explicit meaning but suggest it instead. Now, we can see how the tour of the city is affecting our characters, but not much is happening dramatically. Rather, it is a nuance of moods that is being suggested by the photography.
There will be a return to plot, back into the darkness of the night (and of the soul), but I will leave it at that.
I think because of it's title, I was expecting "Sunrise" to be a basically sunny story about a young couple starting life together in rural America. I had no idea what it was about. As it turned out, it was very similar in tone and style to "Last Laugh" or "Faust". "Nosferatu" is straight up horror, and therefore in a separate category. But Murnau makes dark-themed films, and "Sunrise" is one of them, though there is always hope in his movies as well.
Really what he was, was one of the early visual geniuses of cinema, who utilized camera movement to create audience involvement. You feel "inside" his movies, with their surreal sets. He was also one of the first directors to use specific angles from which to picture his characters in close up, so as to suggest what they might be thinking or feeling.
"Sunrise" was honored at the very first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929, winning an Oscar for "Most Unique Artistic Production", the only time that category was presented. It also won for Best Cinematography (easy to see why), and Janet Gaynor won for Best Actress, the first ever to receive that award.
Normally, I might add a disclaimer because "Sunrise" is a Silent film, and often, for uninitiated viewers this can be a problem. As an aside, I also think that if any fan of cinema were to give Silents a chance, to develop a taste for them slowly and on their own merits, that most anyone could become a fan, as I have. Early on it was a little difficult but nowdays I have no problem watching a Silent Movie, so long as it is a good film.
But none of this applies to "Sunrise", and I don't need disclaimer because, even though it is Silent, it is such a visual feast and such an involving story on an emotional level, that I think it can be enjoyed by anyone, even if they've never seen a Silent before.
Really, it's a Masterpiece of the highest order, which I think will be enhanced by repeat viewings.
Two Gigantic Thumbs Up, then, for "Sunrise" and for the genius of F.W. Murnau. Look for it! /////
I am back at work today, so I will try and return to a normal writing schedule. No hikes this afternoon, just getting everything back in order at Pearl's and settling in for another cycle.
I've been listening to Dodgers games whenever possible. Man, is this team incredible or what? Every guy is an offensive threat, everyone can play multiple positions. When they call a guy up from the minors, he contributes instantly (see Will Smith).
This may just be the greatest Dodger team since the 1970s. This is their year to finally win the World Series. :)
That's all for now. Hope you are having a great day. See you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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