The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

 

I'll be the first to admit I was skeptical about this film. Its old its black and white and its silent, these are all things that would traditionally turn me away from a film. The film was released in Germany in the 1920's and was directed by Robert Wiene. It details the life of a man named Dr. Caligari and his assistant Cesare who show up to a town claiming they can see the future and who will die in the future. The story unfolds people die and a chase begins but there was a major plot twist where we discover that Francis, one of the main heros trying to find the killers, is actually a patient at the local psych ward. What I loved about the film was the silent aspect. The story line was hard to follow at times without any speaking but it opened my eyes films and genres I never would have explored.

With the film being hard to understand at times this breakdown helped me follow the plot a little better. Originally I dove right into the movie but reading some background and watching this breakdown helped me enjoy the movie on a different level. I would encourage anyone who struggled to understand the film to watch this breakdown it might open your eyes to older films.

Study Questions:

 1.) The movie tells the story of Dr. Caligari and his assistant Cesare that become popular in a town for their abilities. Dr. Caligari claimed that his somnambulist assistant was able to see into the future and they predicted several murders. Cesare becomes the main suspect of the case and the story is the chase of finding who is behind these murders is it Cesare or Dr. Caligari. One of the victims friends Francis was very suspicious and took it upon himself to find the truth.

2.) The films entire story is told through a flashback that Francis is having. This was very unique at the time and helps to build suspense because we only know what Francis knows. 

3.) This film utilized a lot of different camera angles. One that really stuck out to me was the fish eye lense shots, it was used in a way that made it feel like we were getting deeper looks into the minds of people or the plot of the movie. I also loved the scene of Cesare approaching Jane in her home, the feeling of seeing him approach from a distance was very creepy and it built lots of suspense.

4.) The final plot twist is when we all discover that Francis was really a patient at an insane asylum and he had made the story up in his head using other patients as characters  like Jane and Cesare. Dr. Caligari was the director of the insane asylum.

5.) The final plot twist was extremely new and experimental at the time but it showed viewers that we are only limited to what we are told. It creates a world that feels like a lie at the end and we are left to interpret ourselves.

6.) The set designs in the movie were extremely simplistic in terms of todays standards but in that time this was a big risk. There wasnt as many variables that a director could manipulate to speak to an audience so early set making was huge for a film. In thius film it helped display the eerie vibe and build suspense.

7.) Set design can alter someones mood and feeling in different parts of the movie. The set designs in this movie imply a broken and crooked world which can connect us to the broken minds of the characters. It can also just help boost the spooky feel. 

8.) This movie can still and is still used as a work to reflect on especially in the world of horror. It uses techniques and concepts still relevant  in film today and it shows where film started.

9.) Whenever i watch a movie with a huge plot twist i think of fight club but the eerie vibe and colors made me think of Edward scissorhands.

10.) In this movie the narrator Francis was a character that we all believed  the whole movie but it turned out to be false. This is how we were able top experience the shock when we got the plot twist.