Film and literature and art have the same function - to convey the values and inner ideals of the maker of the work. Of course, the movie mentioned here does not refer to the movie as the concept of "commodity", but the movie as the "container of consciousness". Films are made by people, and are naturally immersed in the ideas and concepts of the producers. A single film reflects the idea of making an individual; while a film of an era can be seen as a collective psychological portrayal of an era.
From the script to the presentation of Caligari's entire film, there are very symbolic metaphors worthy of further investigation. The "frame nested" narrative adds a touch of mystery to the film's already horrifying and grotesque style.
1. Imprints of the Times and Post-war Shadows
Exaggerated performances, artificial interior layouts, a single panoramic shot, the "number of scenes" switched in the midfield... If you watch in a dimly lit auditorium, and there are no tape lines, viewers may think they are watching a silent movie. drama.
On the set, the film was completed by three expressionist artists. "A film should be a painting full of vitality", which is the common belief of the three expressionist artists. Throughout the film, Dr. Caligari's clothing is jagged and sharp. The backgrounds are mostly geometric patterns, the chimneys are sloping, the windows are kite-style, and the vines look very menacing. To a certain extent, the function of the scenery has risen from simple scene cues to allusions to characters' emotions.
In terms of the characters, Caligari's eyes are always thoughtful, the black cloak, the black high-brimmed hat, and the gray hair under the black high-brimmed hat. Sometimes there is no sly and gloomy smile, which always makes me A lot of Frankenstein comes to mind. At the same time, Caesar's thin and pale face, messy hair, sluggish eyes, and zombie-like actions and temperament make people think of a controlled puppet - and he does.
In terms of sound, there is no dialogue or scene sound in the film, and important dialogue and information are cut through subtitle frames to undertake the narration. But the whole film is full of soundtrack accompaniment added later, and the soundtrack assists the visual sense to create a sense of horror and dissonance. Most of the orchestral music plays minor chords, and the use of rising and falling and semitones is too much, and the methods of leaving blanks and sudden vocalizations are also tried and tested in the film.
The whole film shows a strange feeling of different time and space. Combined with the background of the times at that time, it will naturally associate with the desolation of the inner world of individual people after the war.
2. The absolute embodiment of absolute authority
In Kracauer's analysis of German film psychology, the image of Dr. Caligari is the embodiment of absolute authority. In terms of identity, he is the director of the mental hospital, and he is the highest-level existence in the area of the mental hospital.
From the perspective of character relationship, Caligari used hypnosis to control Caesar and instructed him to kill him. Between him and Caesar, he is the absolute authority to control Caesar, and Caesar is his doll and chess piece; Among the deceased who died strangely, he controls their lives and is also the manipulator. This once again reinforces Caligari's "image of absolute authority".
From the visual presentation of the film, his seat is at the very center of the set, the height of his stool has almost reached the ceiling, and the number and height of the stairs in front of his office all hint at his identity.
Caligari represents an unrestricted ruler obsessed with power, ignoring and crushing the basic rights of mankind.
("From Caligari to Hitler")
3. From Rebellion to Dispelling Rebellion
The male protagonist, Francis, is a positive character in the movie. After his friend died mysteriously, he kept looking for evidence, intending to prove that Dr. Caligari used hypnotism to manipulate Caesar to kill. He contacted the police to monitor and control it, and he himself has been collecting evidence both openly and covertly. It was not until he entered the director's office of the mental hospital and found the casebook and Caligari's diary in the office that Caligari's despicable behavior was exposed.
At the end of the film we have seen the scene where the Doctor is captured. This is a symbol of the hero's attempt to rebel against the "image of authority" described above - the triumph of reason over power and the removal of the ruler.
Seeing this is the end of a complete suspenseful narrative - the murderer is brought to justice, the evidence is conclusive, and the world is at peace. But in the end, there was an unexpected change in the style of painting - the hero Francis finally found out that he was also a patient in this hospital, and most of the whole film was his own imagination.
All of the rebellion from the very beginning suddenly vanished. Francis, who rebelled against authority, was insane, and finally needed to be cured and controlled by authority. He was indeed pushed down by a group of medical staff on the gothic-style hospital bed, making a hysterical noise.
4. Neuroticism?
The insanity and rationality of the reaction in the film can not help but remind people of the hesitation in Europe at that time after the war. After watching the movie, the first thing that makes people suspicious is "how can I be sure that I am not a mentally ill, everything in front of me is my imagination?"
The words "THE END" appearing on the screen did not make people feel relieved, but felt a sense of loss for a long time. "Is everything real?" was my first thought.
And the character that moved me the most in the film was the Caesar who was under the control of the mind to kill people in Francis's imagination.
If the most rebellious person in the film is Francis, who reflects the German people's rejection of authoritarian psychology at that time, the symbol of the submissive in the film is Caesar.
Francis surrendered after struggling, with helplessness, collapse, and disappointment. And Caesar appeared in the film as a "domesticated" person from the very beginning. Although the moment of appearance is already the existence of loss of self, we can still see the morbidity of Caesar as a controlled person in the film - his eyes are empty when he does not act, and his eyes are depressed when he kills.
The shape design reflects the same character traits: restrained, gloomy, restrained (or forced to restrain), struggling.
This struggle was most vividly shown in Caesar's final assassination: he was slow to move, and his sharp knife could not be dropped. There seemed to be a trace of pity and a trace of self-deprecation in his eyes, but it seemed that he didn't understand his own behavior, but he couldn't resist. After the assassination failed to escape from the castle, his steps and expressions could not stop panicking, and he was at a dead end. He had already died once, and after being reborn by mind control, he walked towards gunpowder and death again.
How pathetic and ridiculous is this? Looking back on the history of Germany, why not? In the First World War, the German people had already been burdened with the trauma of a war, and for the negligence and concession of authoritarianism, Hitler came to power and launched World War II. Aren't the people just like Caesar? In the midst of control and compromise, in struggle and irrationality, the state once again came to an end. And the fighters in the war are not like Caesar? The dripping blood of those who murdered by means of knives stained their hands, and everyone became an accomplice of the "Nazi", a collective unconscious, and a screw of authoritarianism.
When Caesar climbed to the top of the mountain, leaving only a silhouette, it was like a vampire meeting the moon—spiritual division and fusion were realized for the first time in Caesar. Caesar is a downright tragic character.
The second realization of this spiritual split and fusion is in Francis. Francis is also tragic, he was a patient in a mental hospital - a metaphor for the "ruled" under authoritarianism. He wants to resist but has no energy, and the morbid struggle develops into a fantasy. The most senior dean in the hospital, Dr. Caligari, became the first person in his imagination. In his imagination, the dean was a symbol of sin and a symbol of power. And Caesar, the most obedient and obedient in the hospital, became the second person under control in his imagination. In his imagination, Caesar was a symbol of a tool, a numb, rigid-minded controlled person who succumbed to the environment. The manipulative type—and the type of person he most resists being.
Francis, as the only resister in the hospital, was "recognized as an alien" and was finally subdued and tied to the hospital bed.
After the ending, will Francis eventually become the same obediently obedient person in the mental hospital? We don't know. From the strong hints and metaphors in the film, the mental hospital has thus become an object of "original prophecy".
In a world full of lunatics, when lunatics become the majority, do lunatics become normal people? In the small world of the mental hospital, when all the patients are unconscious and obey the treatment and control of the doctor's hospital, they are normal patients, normal people in that crazy world?
And the rebels and normal people who appeared in that crazy world - Francis who appeared, became a patient among the patient group. Positive and negative, black and white are confused and confused. When authoritarianism appears, when Leviathan appears, and the polarization of the group appears, the definition of "madness" and "normal" becomes psychedelic. From the Nazi massacre to the Cultural Revolution purge, it seems that every time it is only after time has elapsed, examining eyes will be looked at.
Fifth, the last random bb
"Dr. Caligari's Cabin" should be appreciated as a work of art, no matter from the setting, shooting, script creation and post-narrative... The reflectiveness of its connotations can still shock people's hearts after nearly a hundred years . Although in Kracauer's pen, the script changes dispelled what should have been rebellious and revolutionary, making the film seem mediocre in the spiritual sense at the end. This change is a portrayal of the people's hesitation and rejection of authoritarianism, and finally eagerly hope for a strong rule. But I think that the nested narrative of the script, which sets the original story as the hero's neurological imagination, has another peculiar effect of chemical reaction, which makes people think more deeply about the norms and anomies, normal and abnormal under Leviathan At the same time, this new type of narrative also created a successful precedent for later images. On the contrary, if the script ends up being a revolutionary symbol of "revolting against authoritarian rule", it would appear to be a vulgarity in the eyes of today's viewers.
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