SUNRISE
A film retrospective by Michael Har-even
Copyright Michael Har-even 1994
Director: F.W.Murnau Cast: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Bodil Rosing, Margaret Livingstone. Released in 1927, 110 minutes.
SUNRISE tells the story of a peasant who is encouraged by his mistress, a city vamp, to get rid of his beloved wife. The actual tale is well known but the unique way that Murnau has managed to treat the subject turns a cliche to one of the great masterpieces of cinema.
It is impossible to relate this film to a precise style or genre. Basically, it is a realistic film (but not naturalistic) mingled with surrealistic and expressionistic scenes. It is not a drama more than it is a comedy. It is a silent film yet every spectator can imagine the colors and hear the sounds of each scene.
The main subject is the relationship between men and women in the modern society. Men and women are different creatures. Men like sport while women like to dance. Men are active while women are passive. Men are direct while women are more sensitive. In the modern world (the city), the distinctions between the sexes are not that strict any more. Men must learn to be sensitive while women should pay for their lunch. How can that change take place?
The only possible way is through love. Love unites men and women and gives them the strength to cope with troubles. In SUNRISE, the man and woman are peasants who enjoy the modern world but in the same time have difficulty in adjusting to it. As a result, there are several very funny scenes that Keaton and Chaplin would have been proud of. For example, after dropping a reproduction of Venus of Mile, the two peasants cannot find the missing parts of the body on the floor.
SUNRISE describes the rebirth of love. The magnificent thing is that the way the story is told is as delightful as the story itself. Only on rare occasions, the audience becomes so close to the main characters. The actors are wonderful and Murnau succeeded to transform their feelings and thoughts to the spectators.
The expressions of the actors are so revealing that the spectators are forced to unite with the main characters. As a result, all the events and the situations are very realistic. Murnau exploits the exterior for the same purpose. When the hero is happy, a street full of cars turns into a magical forest. When he is full of lust for his mistress, images of her are dissolving around him. Even the titles are formed in different shapes to express sarcasm. A set of panning shots are used to retain the realistic atmosphere after the expressionistic and the surrealistic scenes.
The result is one of the most sensible love stories ever told. It seems that SUNRISE is more interesting, more enjoyable, more original and more authentic than any film of our decade. How come?
Like a true modern artist Murnau had an aesthetic theory on the background of his films. He tried to avoid the conventional so he explored his ideas by creating films. On the foreground, he loved his actors, he loved his actresses, he loved the camera--he was in love with cinema. The greatest quality of SUNRISE is that some of this love is passed to us.
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