The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari "Night Again'

The scene I chose was entitled the “Night Again” when Jane was sleeping and Cesare enters with a knife to kill again. As he held the knife to strike Jane he stopped and touched her face instead, she awakens and there was a struggle. Jane fainted and Cesare ran away with her, two men in the house heard the struggle went to the room and saw Jane was missing. They alerted others and ran after Cesare, who grew weary and dropped Jane. Throughout all this Jane was still passed out and Cesare fled and somehow ran to a top of a hill from which he fell to his death. I believe this scene is much like Frankenstein, the ugly creature like Cesare wanted companionship. When he saw this beautiful woman laying there his human feelings got the better of him, so he decided to disobey Dr. Caligari and abduct Jane.  

I chose this scene as it shows that persons have their own thoughts and feelings about situation. Cesare went to Jane’s room to do as he was instructed but somehow changed his mind either for the fact that she was beautiful or some inner feelings that aroused. His command was over powered by his thought process.  Maybe this was the first time he felt like a human being after being under Dr. Cagliari’s rule. Had the writers not presented Cesare in such a distorted way the film may not have been as effective.

This film relates to the class as it depicts expressionism as it depicts the world from a subjective perspective. Cesare’s dark soul was captured in the film and his subjective feelings were evoked.  Even though it’s a silent film the actions of the actors’ gives a clear depiction of what’s going on. The film presents society as place of distorted images and lost spirituality.