Review of Sunrise (1985) by Maarrk H — 07 Sep 2009

F.W. Murnau's Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans is notable mainly for being the first (?) film that utilized the camera in such a way that it seems apart from the action on-screen. It is through this that the illusion is born, the idea that anything could happen. And when the camera moves down while a couple walks across a busy street to show them entering a Paradise jungle, that is merely one of the times when the effect is used to its fullest potential.

But it's hard to watch a movie with quotation marks, if you know what I mean. It's difficult to always think about the film in context. Because, you see, a lot of what happens in the movie is small potatoes in our fast and cheap modern age. The fact that images are often layered on top of one another is certainly a visual treat and a technical marvel, but you've got to keep in mind how startling it was in 1927, or else it's liable to pass you by.

But let's set the technical achievement aside for a moment, shall we? Of course Sunrise is remarkable for the way that it was composed, but how about what it actually says? Even if the camerawork is fluid, the story is kind of shaky. An unnamed man is having an affair with a woman from the city - this woman appears in lingerie (what a slut!) early in the film and tries to convince the man to drown his boring wife. With an eerie determination, the man sets into motion a plan to take his wife out on the lake and then capsize the boat, keeping himself afloat with the aid of a bundle of sticks he's collected. But as he reaches for his wife's throat, her vulnerability and dread soften his resolve. He realizes that, yes, he.. he loves her!

And so most of the rest of the movie follows them rekindling their lost love, getting haircuts at the barber shop, getting drunk in a fancy restaurant, going to a carnival, and so on. The movie even finds time for a wacky chase sequence involving a clever little pig. It seemed strange to me that a movie which began so dark and serious turned into such a silly adventure about chasing down booze-drinking pigs and weird comic scenes where the strap of a woman's dress falls off of her shoulder whenever she applauds. Really? Is this really what the movie is supposed to be about?

Perhaps Murnau is just lulling his audience into a sense of complacency, all to surprise us with a twisted ending, which only backs out of its darker tendencies at the last moment. There is little characterization beyond the fact that the city woman is bad, the wife is good, and the attempted murder is forgivable. I have to wonder if I was the only person apalled at the romantic outing that the man and his wife shared, given that he was literally moments away from murdering her earlier in the day. Is it just a product of the time? I can't imagine that a movie with a similar plotline would be accepted easily today.

Yes, Sunrise is a visual marvel - it's a giant leap forward for silent films in terms of technical wizardry, and that is certainly worth applauding. But I have some misgivings about the way the story moves - there are certainly some excellent moments that create a lot of tension (when the city woman comes a-whistlin' after the man gets back from sea, for instance), but then there's some kind of absurd moments, also. And those absurd moments seem so out of place that they detract from the film.

So, um. Yep.