Review of Sunrise (1985) by Joe C — 04 Jan 2015
An absurd premise for a romance movie is pulled off with more sincerity than it has any right to. A farmer under the spell of a visiting city beauty is convinced to kill his wife. Lovely. Like Fritz Lang after him F.
W Murnau brought the visual brilliance of German Expressionist cinema to our side of the Atlantic, but unlike Lang there are no lessons or epiphanies to be gleaned from watching Sunrise. In a ballsy move, script disposes the crux of the plot within the first 20 minutes (no, he doesn't kill her) and dedicates the rest of the film to the incredibly beguiling tale of the couples' falling back in love, while in the backdrop of staggeringly pretty imagery.
And the result is so heartwarming and such a joy to watch, you won't care a damn that the narrative is virtually non-existent. Murnau brings Sunrise to a dreamlike intensity that dares you not to grin like an idiot throughout the whole experience.
Title cards need not apply.
This review of Sunrise (1985) was written by Joe C on 04 Jan 2015.
Sunrise has generally received very positive reviews.
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