Kira Moore

How far does ‘Sunrise’ reflect the aesthetic influences of the German Expressionist
movement?
One of the main aesthetic influences of the German Expressionist movement was playing
with light and shadow and abstract angles. This can be seen very easily from the opening
sequence of ‘Sunrise’ (S). The introduction of the lady from the city shows her in her room.
The room itself is very dark and deep shadow is cast over her face alluding to the deep
sense of corruption that follows her. The bed and furniture in the room maintain this highly
stylised abstract angling. This is then repeated downstairs with the couple sat at the table
which is very clearly angular. This plays on the sense of optical illusion in the German
Expressionist movement. Too stylised to be real.
The lady from the city is arguably one of the most expressionist characters aside from the
man. She is the one that instils manipulation to the film. Another key aspect of
Expressionism. She clearly has a married man wrapped around her finger and is doing it for
her own personal gain and want to lead him to his moral downfall. This is a stock character
of the German Expressionist genre and the general downward trajectory is a key theme.
This femme fatale character was carried through into the Noir movement after the Second
World War highlighting its importance here. This manipulation is shown through key
symbolism and exaggeration. Later in the film there is a close-up shot of the lady from the
city highlighting how she could make money from selling the man’s farm. This is clear and
blatant symbolism and links with her exaggerated acting of a sly grin. Exaggerated acting
spans from the film movement due to the necessity of creating meaning without any
dialogue.
Exaggeration of the set, however, is a key trait of Murnau himself as an auteur within the
German Expressionist movement. He often cheated to give the impression of a grander
scale to his film and his use of deep shadow is particularly noticeable here. In the sequence
where the man and his wife have just entered the city Murnau didn’t have a camera capable
of taking a deep-focussed establishing shot so cheated by using miniatures and children to
give the impression of more depth. His deep shadow is noticeable not only in the sequence
where the man resolves to drown his wife and chiaroscuro lighting is used to show his
confliction, but also in his other films such as ‘Nosferatu’ where the iconic shadow moving up
the stairs is used. Another influence of the German Expressionist genre that Murnau used in
‘S’ is static camera and long takes. This can be seen in the tram sequence where it is all
shot from the same angle and there is no cut but the sequence lasts for over thirty seconds.
This spans back from the very birth of expressionism and George Melies who shot his magic
shows on film. This were much like watching a theatre show in that only one angle was ever
used and the camera remained completely static.
One of the final ways in which ‘S’ reflect the German Expressionist movement is the
superimposition of sequences of film over one another. During the meeting of the lady from
the city and the man this is used to show what they’re talking about. As the lady dances the
film is superimposed with a party in the city. This clearly shows what they are talking about
but also destroys any sense of realism. The Expressionist movement was about stylisation
rather than realism. Highly constructed and mediated to create a more emotional response
in the spectator. While there are a few realist sequences within ‘S’, such as the sequence
where the man leaves and the wife comes in with dinner, it truly is a German Expressionist
film. Right down to the loping walk of the man even within his own home.