Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 8-February-09
Spoiler Rating: High

Sunrise (1927)

It feels incongruous to write about a movie which communicates almost entirely, and very beautifully, without words. I shall give this a go if only to express my appreciation. F. W. Murnau's Sunrise is a treasure from the silent era that must be seen to be understood, not because it is abstract or complex but because it abounds with exquisite emotion. Presented to an audience only one or two generations removed from agrarian life, Sunrise pits simple country virtues against brassy urban decadence with the future of two people at stake.

The story unfolds linearly yet with a dramatic non-linear effect. In a seaside hamlet where locals raise chickens and city folk flock on weekends, a flapper with a cigarette between her painted lips goes out for some nighttime fun. There are no clubs to amuse her, only a handsome farmer (George O'Brien) at whose gate she whistles to initiate a tryst. The farmer slips out while his unglamorous wife (Janet Gaynor) is putting dinner on the table and falls into his lover's arms in a fit of longing and frustration. Smothering him with kisses, she convinces him to drown his wife and follow her to the city where all their dreams will come true.

Back at the farm, the hired help recalls how the husband and wife "used to be like children, carefree … always happy and laughing …." This rare title card, along with a reference to financial difficulties, is the only backstory we are given to decide whether to root for the marriage or the wife alone. The next morning the couple embarks on a boat ride during which the man is unable both to hide his plan and to carry it out. He ends up pursuing his terrified and heartbroken wife as she flees into the very city where he planned to escape. At last we are shown evidence that the marriage should be saved, the impact of which is heightened by coming after the crisis has passed. The movie is less about adultery and its consequences than the joy and strengthening of reunion. Shocked into mutual rediscovery and removed temporarily from their responsibilities, the couple emerges as crazy kids still crazy about each other. Gaynor glows as she accompanies her restored mate to a tonsorial parlor, an elaborate dance hall, and a portrait studio where they have a funny mishap with a classical statue. By the time they get back in the boat, tipsy with romance and wine, you accept that the young man stumbled but realizes how much he might have lost.

A storm blows up on the way home. When he loses his wife overboard, the husband feels that a punishment has descended upon him for the evil he considered. He rouses the town, leads a search party, yells until he is hoarse. After he returns in failure his mistress arrives and does not get the reception she expected. Yet before the man really does commit murder, the sun rises upon a new day. In this self-styled "song of two humans" there are still more verses to sing. Like a lovely melody, this movie might stay with you forever.

Copyright © 2009 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.