What is German expressionist film—a small-scale research on its reception regarding Chinese audience

Figure 1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920)

You may be stunned to see how the houses are represented in this picture: crooked, distorted and squeezed together. You can be even more stunned to find out that it is a background drawing in a movie.

This expressionist painting was deliberately chosen as set design in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), a German Expressionist film which is one example of the topic of this blog.
After Germany’s terrifying defeat in the World War I and the attendant societal instability and inflation, people there started living in “angst, doom and paranoia” (Fabe, 2004, p.38). Moreover, the intellectual circle at that time were concerned with revolution and reorganization (Kurtz, 2016). Consequently, a film movement known as German Expressionism emerged and caught the attention of the contemporary critics (Kuhn & Knight, 2007). Revolutionarily, expressionist films tend to use “the central character’s completely subjective point of view to develop the action and distort the other characters” (Anonymous, 2015, p.183), and are characteristic of “an extreme stylization of mise en scen” and cinematography (Kuhn & Knight, 2007, p. 208).
The aim of this blog is to analyze Chinese audience’s reception of unique styles in expressionist films. Hence, I will summarize and discuss the findings from three semi-structured interviews I have conducted about how Chinese perceive the characteristics of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and The Last Laugh (1924).

In this section, I will talk about the major findings in the interviews.

First, for all three of them, this was their first time to watch German Expressionist films and they find them tiring to watch. Though two of them were amazed at the plot design of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, they still believe that unlike Hollywood blockbusters, these two films do not feature eye-catching conflicts and special effects. Coupled with the lack of lines, it is even more challenging to focus while watching.

Nevertheless, they all acknowledge these two films as artistic.

Figure 2. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920)

Figure 3. The Last Laugh (F. W. Murnau, 1924)

The first reason for it is its employment of various mise en scene designs. All the participants were aware of the painted backgrounds throughout The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, exemplified by figure 1. They claim to feel the mysterious and creepy atmosphere of the film intensified when they see them. Participant C was particularly impressed by the woods Kaiser (Conrad Veidt) fled into when he failed in kidnapping. The branches and twigs resemble arms and fingers, scratching threateningly, according to her (see figure 2). Beside this, participant B also located painted background in The Last Laugh, as he believes buildings in the far end cannot be as conspicuous as those at the front (see figure 3).

Figure 4. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920)

The costume and makeup in the films are also key points to them. The impressive appearance of Kaiser is a case in point (see figure 4). Both participant A and C expressed their love for Kaiser’s gothic makeup and tights, which they believe both integrate him with his contemporary fellows and set him apart from all the normal people. Participant A also found the old man’s (Emil Jannings) coat an object which appears consistently and bears crucial implication—a prop. He considered it a symbol of his “glorious” job and something that motivates the development of the plot.

Figure 5. The Last Laugh (F. W. Murnau, 1924)

They believe the second explanation for the artistic nature of the film lies in cinematography. For instance, both participant B and C mentioned the spinning camera in The Last Laugh: The old man remains at the center of the frame while the background objects revolve around him. During the same scene, they also observed that all the things seem to be obscure (see figure 5). This out-of-focus shot, combined with the spinning camera were interpreted by them as indicators of a dream sequence, which serves to reveal the aspiration of the old man. Participant A also remarked that he is fascinated by the way the film uses camera zoom-in to illustrate the surprise of the old man when he finds out in the letter that he is fired. Additionally, participant B noticed the low-angle shot when the old man first tried to lift the heavy suitcase and commented that it may inform the audience about the incapability of the old man.

Figure 6. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920)

Another technique that they are interested in is the shadow created by lighting. Both participant A and C referred to the shadow of Kaiser when he attempted murder (see figure 6). It was as if the direction of lighting was deliberately designed to project the shadow so immensely on the wall. Words like “pressure” and “terrifying” were used when asked about how they feel about the shadow. Participant C descried similar usage of lighting to create unrealistically large shadow in The Last Laugh, too. Though he was reduced to a restroom attendant, he still draws himself up and pretend to be the same proud gatekeeper he no longer is.

The next significant finding is the shared belief that The Last Laugh has made some progress in the field of expressionist film. Both participant B and C argued that Wiene only explored expressionism in his set designs, while Murnau imbued almost every aspect of The Last Laugh with expressionist features, such as costume, camera placement and lighting.

In addition, I also found that all the participants agreed that expressionist films have influenced films of other genres. It was suggested by participant A and C that many plays took after expressionist films in that they also had exaggerated performance and painted settings. Another suggestion made by participant B and C was that some blockbusters were using camera movements or distortion to represent dreams and fantasy. Participant B mentioned the subjective storytelling perspective of the leading man in Lost in The Stars (2023) to support his point.

Lastly, when interviewed about the overtones in the two films, none of them were able to give precise answer due to lack of knowledge about the historical background of expressionist films. However, they could all read them as allegories and discover their general implications.

After summarizing the major findings in the interviews, I will move on to discuss them in the context of existing critiques about German Expressionism and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and The Last Laugh in particular.
To begin with, I was not surprised to find out their unfamiliarity with German Expressionism and complaints about the “boredom” of these films, since nowadays, teenagers are so immersed in diverse fast-pace entertainment that they can hardly slow down to appreciate those oblique and less intelligible.
Consequently, I got quite overjoyed when they listed all the techniques exploited by expressionist filmmakers for me. More to my astonishment, their discoveries largely align with those of the professional critics. First, their fascination with the plots proved the success of the script—it managed to create the correct base for all the formal elements in an expressionist film. Second, the filmmakers indeed went to full strength in designing the setting to make it “graphic art”. They simplified the shape of architectures and emphasized its leading lines, trying to manipulate people’s empathy with shapes (Kurtzs, 2016, p.130). This can be seen in figure 1, 2 and 3 that my interviewees listed. Though they were not able to define the precise methods applied, they did sense something unusual. Third, the skillful camera usage has been a key point in professional reviews. Despite the obvious spinning camera, it is incredible that my interviewee can notice the shift in camera angle, which also intrigued Fabe (2004). In addition, lighting skills detected by my interviewees was also elaborated on by the critics such as Kurtzs (2016). Finally, since none of my interviewees mentioned any discrepancy, I can argue that both directors have successfully filled the gap between the “natural shape of the actors” and the “artificial form of the sets” via giving specific instruction on “costume and postures” (Kurtz, 2016, p.117).

Per Fabe (2004, p.37), Murnau strived to explore “the potential of the enframed image, the way specific photographic effects could add psychological expressiveness to the profilmic action”, and Wiene also attempted to project the thoughts of the leading role onto the mise en scene. This is manifested by my interviewees’ claim that they felt the emotions and the intensification of the mysterious and creepy atmosphere through the scenes.

My interviewees’ proposal that The Last Laugh made progress to some extent is constructive. This is also supported by Fabe’s (2004, p.40) claim that Wiene only explored expressionism in films in “the film’s mise en scene, namely its two-dimensional painted sets”, but failed to capitalize on “the expressive possibilities inherent in the cinematic medium” and that Murnau was able to exploit things like camera position, superimposition and distorting lenses.

From my perspective, the claim on the influence of German expressionism on other films also makes sense, since according to chapter 6 in Knopf’s book (2015), some creative elements in it have inspired all kinds of artistic movements. Nevertheless, the examples they mentioned are merely handful. Normally, it was not the dazzling and striking photographic effects that are imitated, but the sophisticated plot (Kuhn & Knight, 2007).
As regards the overtones my interviewees got from watching, people’s preference “for drawing analogies between the contemporary situation and the individuals it victimized” can explain it (Anonymous, 2015). Khun and Knight (2007) also detected connection to Germany’s traumatic loss in World War I in the films.
To conclude, this research is a useful attempt in examining Chinese’s reception of German Expressionism, but considering its small scale, future researches with more samples are expected.

Reference list:
Fabe, M. (2004). Closely Watch Films: An Introduction to the Art of Narrative Film Technique. London: University of California Press.
Kuhn, A. & Knight, J. (2007). Weimar Cinema. In P. Cook (Ed.), The Cinema Book (pp. 208-211). London: British Film Institute.
Kurtz, R. (2016). Expressionism and Film. Paris: John Libbey Publishing.

Anonymous. (2015). 6. German Expressionism. In R. Knopf (Ed.), Theater of the Avant-Garde, 1890-1950: A Critical Anthology (pp. 183-238). New Haven: Yale University Press.