The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Directed by Robert Weine and released in 1920, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was Germany’s answer to traditional Hollywood cinema and the first world war. During the 1920’s in the wake of WWI, Germany was one of several nations to forge a major film presence (Resistance to Hollywood). The films that came out of this time are very unique to the country they were produced in and are stylistically characterized as German expressionist films. This style arose from two factors: the warped psychological state of Germany during and after WWI and financial constraints that forced directors to find alternative means to traditional lighting and set design (The Frame in Two Dimensions).

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is told entirely through a series of flashbacks. The only time we are in the present tense is at the very beginning and end of the film. Here, Francis has finished recounting the story of an evil doctor who has trained his somnambulist Cesare to predict people's deaths and then kill them in order to ensure that his prediction came true. The evil Dr. Caligari is eventually unhanded by the law, laced up in a straight jacket, and thrown into an insane asylum. This is the story that unravels throughout the movie. Despite the fact that the story is incredibly eerie and supernatural, the viewer assumes that Francis is sane and accepts his tale as truth. The darkness of this scene, however, suggests a very ominous psychological state. This man has sat in obscure gloom for an hour while telling his story, so perhaps he is disturbed. This is also a reflection of the atmosphere in Germany during the years after WWI- dark, gloomy, and ominous. 

In the next shot, we are brought into what appears to be a large sitting room or parlor. People mill about mindlessly, almost as if under hypnosis. The only depth suggested by the mise en scène is created by the wheel design on the floor of the set. Otherwise, the set looks rather like a theater stage. It is as if Robert Wiene filmed the scene on one flat plane (Ebiri). There is little variance in camera angles or lenses. Due to a lack of funds, Wiene had to rely on the appearance of his set to create effects such as depth or the contrast of lightness and darkness. If he wanted to convey physical darkness- like the darkness seen in the archways at the back of the set- his set designers would paint the shadows according to where they would appear if actual light was used. This technique was also used to create a sense of depth, as exemplified by the wheel pattern on the floor of this shot.

In this shot, Francis spots Cesare, the somnambulist of the story he has just finished telling us. His terror and shock are quite clear. He grips and hides behind another man, his eyes widening in fright. Because The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a silent film actors could not convey emotion through their voice. Many times, they relied on over-acting and making overly expressive facial expressions or bodily gestures to gesticulate to the audience about how they're feeling. 

At this point, we are beginning to wonder where Francis is. According to the story he just told his audience, Cesare is no longer living and his master, the supposedly evil Dr. Caligari has been laced up in a straightjacket and thrown into solitary confinement. Is Francis crazy, or was the entirety of the movie simply a dream of him?

After Francis draws attention to the fact that Cesare is a dangerous being who has somehow risen from the dead, he is swarmed and restrained by a group of people who appear to be some kind of hospital nurses. At this point, the viewer begins to realize that Francis is insane (despite his protestations) and the room he is in is a part of an asylum. The people milling about, including Cesare, were all characters in the story he just told his audience. Francis' insanity instills in the audience an heavy sense of uneasiness. If we can't trust him, but we've also been told (by a madman) not to trust Dr. Caligari, who can we trust?

In this shot, Francis has been restrained in a straight jacket and is being hustled into solitary confinement by three asylum attendants. The bizarre and stylized angles of the room he is currently being forced into reflect Francis' erratic state of mind. It is clouded by encroaching darkness and completely off balance. Despite financial restrictions due to the poor economy in Germany during this time, Wiene uses his resources to their highest potential. The lack of professional lighting and intentionally primitive sense effectively add to the macabre atmosphere of the film (The Frame in Two Dimensions). Through the warped appearance of the world that Francis occupies, the audience is able to experience his off-balance perception of his surroundings. Through the whole movie, we were experiencing his insanity and, as a parallel, the insanity of post WWI and pre WWII Germany. 

In this shot, Francis has been thrown into solitary confinement and is being inspected by Dr. Caligari himself- a man we believed to be heinous and evil but who is actually the director of the insane asylum. Once again, the terror is apparent on Francis' face. His expression is so overdramatic that it's almost funny, but it conveys his extreme terror nonetheless. 

At last, the whole truth is confirmed and acknowledged by Caligari. This is the last "speaking" shot in the movie. From here, the audience does not know what will happen to Francis. How is Caligari going to cure him- shock therapy, a lifetime of solitary confinement, death? If Francis and his mental state reflect the mental state of Germany during the 1920's, this question also applies to to Germany as a whole. What was the cure for the economic/social/political crisis Germany was enduring at the time? The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a tumultuous, bizarre, and very ominous film that not only reflects the obscurity that Germany was currently experiencing, but also warns of the impending darkness on the horizon.

         The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari focuses largely on the concept of one man (Cesare) being hypnotized by another (Dr. Caligari) to do heinous things (murder people). Though Hitler had only just begun his rise to power, his skills in persuasion can be compared to the power of hypnosis. The hypnotic powers that Caligari possesses and the hypnotized state in which the members of the insane asylum seem to be in (refer to shot 2) symbolize the mass manipulation of the human soul and psyche that Hitler implemented during his reign (Ebiri). Dr. Caligari maintains its status as an art piece and integral part of the German expressionist style while also making very relevant points on the dangers of mass hypnosis and the warped mental state of Germany during the 1920's and onward. 

Works Cited:

Cook, David A. "Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari." A History of Narrative Film. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. Print.

Ebiri, Bilge. "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." The Film Journal. Print.

"The Frame in Two Dimensions: mise en scène in German Expressionism." Film: A Critical Introduction. Print.