Film Review: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

“Delving deeply into the morass of human insanity, this landmark film achieves a stunning balance between art, story and characterisation.” – Damian Cannon (1997)

Figure 1.

Released in 1920, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the perfect example of how subjectivity can visually alter one’s perception of the world. By an extreme distortion of what would be considered relatively banal surroundings, the creators of the film successfully managed to share the protagonist’s tormented feelings with the audience. As the latter starts narrating his tale, we are taken inside his mind and begin to see the world through his eyes. The sharp, angular shapes of the set as well as the constant presence of danger and murder reveal to the spectators that Francis is trapped in state of anxiety. The walls and long, spiralling shadows seem to collapse onto the characters who inhabit his agitated mind whilst the jagged perspective and flat backgrounds make every corner feel like a cul-de-sac. This highly stylized mise-en-scène is not only limited to the set: an author from the classicartfilms website (classicartfilms.com) also points out about the performers that “their acting and movements are greatly exaggerated, jerky and unnatural to blend in with the stylistic and abstract environment”.

The chasing that happen throughout the film is not without reminding us of the way we struggle to escape pursuers in certain dream-states: the characters sometimes have to cross incredibly steep landscapes, paths unfold in unpredictable twists and turn and something that seemed close suddenly stands feet away. To emphasise this feeling of uneasiness, the score accompanies the picture with a continuous, haunting background buzzing. The viewers are left wandering in an environment that denies the laws of logic, where even the furniture is exempt of all symmetry, resulting in a place that is challenging to live in, both physically and mentally. We’ve clearly entered a world that only makes sense to Francis.

Figure 2.

On a more artistic level, all these games of axes, angles, lights and shadows efficiently make the spectator’s attention converge to the central element of each scene, generating unusual yet pleasant compositions that follow the off-centre, 1/3-2/3 aesthetic rule. In that sense, the use of matte paintings contributes to the illusion that our eyes get lost in a maze of tortuous paths.

Figure 3.

However, one set that doesn’t fully respect the general atmosphere of the movie is the maiden’s living room. Here the shapes are round and softer, the curtains elegantly creating curves around the characters. Even the tint doesn’t keep up with the traditional interior/exterior – day/night colourisation palette. But again, seeing as we are still in Francis’ head, we get an expressionist version of the room that physically translates his feelings for Jane and shows that this is the one place where love overtakes his fears.

Figure 4.

Some of the main themes German Expressionism liked to explore were mania and subconscious. In the film, we get a glimpse of the complexity of human psyche with an habile mise-en-abîme that unfolds stories within stories (much like opening a new drawer inside a drawer), supported by the use of iris effects. As Roger Ebert states: “Wiene is fond of the iris shot, which opens or closes upon a scene like an eye. This makes the point that we are looking and are privileged to witness events closed to other people.” Once we step out of the mad man’s tale, we find ourselves in a world that has lost the personal eccentricity that we could read on every wall, as the following comparative stills illustrate.

Figure 5. & Figure 6.

As to the characters themselves, the exaggerated expressivity of their traits provided by heavy make-up has returned to a more classic appearance. This leaves the audience to the interpretation that what we experienced wasn’t flash-back but a fantasy, that we are back to our common reality, as we begin to draw links between its element and Francis’ reality.  

Illustration List

Figure 1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. (1920) Unknown Artist. [Poster] At: http://www.filmaffinity.com/en/movieimage.php?imageId=311549286 (Accessed on 24/09/14)

Figure 2. Countryside Road Still. (1920) From: Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari. Directed by: Wiene, R. [Film still] Germany: Decla-Bioscop. At: http://moviessilently.com/2013/05/12/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-1920-a-silent-film-review/ (Accessed on 24/09/14).

Figure 3. Jail Still. (1920) From: Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari. Directed by: Wiene, R. [Film still] Germany: Decla-Bioscop. At: http://moviessilently.com/2013/05/12/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-1920-a-silent-film-review/ (Accessed on 24/09/14).

Figure 4. Jane’s Home Still. (1920) From: Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari. Directed by: Wiene, R. [Film still] Germany: Decla-Bioscop. At: http://moviessilently.com/2013/05/12/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-1920-a-silent-film-review/ (Accessed on 24/09/14).

Figure 5. The Director’s Internment Still. (1920) From: Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari. Directed by: Wiene, R. [Film still] Germany: Decla-Bioscop. At: Screen capture (Accessed on 24/09/14).

Figure 6. Francis’ Internment Still. (1920) From: Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari. Directed by: Wiene, R. [Film still] Germany: Decla-Bioscop. At: Screen capture (Accessed on 24/09/14).

Biblioghraphy

Cannon, Damian. (1997) Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari (aka The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari), a review by Damian Cannon. (Copyright © Movie Reviews UK) 

At: http://www.film.u-net.com/Movies/Reviews/Cabinet_Caligari.html (Accessed on 23/09/14)

Ebert, Roger. (June 3, 2009) Great Movie: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. At: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-1920 (Accessed on 23/09/14)

[Unknown], Matthew. (September 28th, 2012) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Kino Foreign Film Movie Review. At: http://www.classicartfilms.com/cabinet-of-dr-caligari-the-1919 (Accessed on 23/09/14)