There are ghosts... They are everywhere around us...
The first words of the intertitles in Robert Wiene's 1920 horror classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari sound eerie as two men sit on a bench in an enchanted garden. The light is dim, the music in the background dark and mysterious. As a beautiful, long-haired woman walks past them, completely absorbed in her own world, the younger of the two begins to tell the older man his story.
In the small northern German town of Holstenwall, two friends, Franzis (the narrator of the story) and Alan, enjoying themselves at a funfair. They pass the tent of a shady showman, Dr. Caligari. He is presenting his attraction to a crowd of people: the somnambulist Cesare, a young man who has been living in a sleep-like state for 23 years and can only be woken up by him, Dr. Caligari. The showman awakens the somnambulist in front of everyone, who is gruesome to look at with dark-rimmed eyes and a waxy face. The audience is supposed to ask him, who can supposedly see into the future, questions. When Alan asks how long he will live, Cesare predicts his imminent death. Shocked, the friends leave the fair. The next day, Alan is found dead.
Further deaths haunt the small town and the authorities begin to suspect Dr. Caligari and Cesare, but are initially unable to prove anything. However, Franzis has no peace about the murder of his friend. He investigates the mysterious doctor and discovers things that ultimately drive him mad himself - or was the whole story just one big fever dream?
Robert Wiene's silent film is a true avant-garde masterpiece of early cinema. Even after more than 100 years, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari still manages to captivate the viewer and plunges one into nightmarish depths. The production design is reminiscent of expressionist paintings, with distorted perspectives, shapes and dimensions that seem threatening and ominous. The intertitles look as if they were written by a clumsy, ghostly hand.
The arrival of Dr. Caligari and Cesare descends on the small town like an invisible nightmare that no one can escape. But it is not only eerie figures and abysmal backdrops that confuse the mind. Just when you think you have finally solved the mystery of Dr. Caligari, the reality of the plot suddenly collapses like a house of cards, the credibility of characters is called into question and in the end nothing is as you initially assumed. The feeling of confusion creates a further element of fear and powerlessness that leaves the viewer feeling helpless and uneasy.
Dear readers, if you haven't yet seen this timeless classic of German silent film cinema, change that as soon as possible! A real highlight, especially at this gloomy time of year!
Yours sincerely
Marleen Tigersee
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