5/15:The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

The film that is considered the biggest influence, if not the birth, of the era of German Expressionism is a silly but potent tale. It’s narrated by a haunted young man who tells of his small town where a mysterious and possibly evil Dr. Caligari appears at a local fair with his sideshow attraction, a somnambulist (played by a very young Conrad Veidt).  The young man believes the sleepwalker is committing murders in his trance-like state under Caligari’s instruction, but nothing is what it seems until the bitter end of this delightful, gorgeously photographed indulgence.  Director Wiene doesn’t quite have Lang’s command over mise-en-scene and character and there’s no memorable depth here thematically. However, the deliciously ornate sets, in which no lines travel a straight line, make for a feast for the eyes.