Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)**

Despite a simple premise that has been replicated too many times to count, this is a beautiful film. There’s something inherently charming about silent films for me. Perhaps it’s because it seems quaint to look back at films from simpler times. Everyone has a soft spot for nostalgia and, as a film lover, silent films represent an innocent age for the industry, before films became obsessed with special effects, sex and violence. Then again, all one has to do is watch Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans to realize that the all-but-forgotten films of this era did tackle serious and potentially controversial issues.

A nameless couple lives in a small countryside village. The Man is having an affair with a Woman From The City. The Wife is aware of her husband’s indiscretion but says nothing, shedding tears when he isn’t looking. The Woman From The City grows tired of sharing this country boy and asks him to run away with her- kill his wife, sell his farm and move into the exciting City. The Man protests at first but gives in to her persuasiveness. The Man tells The Wife they are going for a trip to The City by rowboat. Thinking her husband is showing affection, she is overjoyed.

Far out into the water, The Man comes close to drowning his wife but cannot go through with it. He realizes deep down that he loves her. When they reach The City, The Wife attempts to run away, terrified of her husband’s plot to kill her. Their journey into The City brings about the rediscovery of their identities and the rediscovery of their love for each other. The two must battle the commotion of The City, nature and more temptation in order to make their love last.

There is a lot going on in this film. On the surface it may seem generic and clichéd but you have to look deeper to appreciate old films like Sunrise. Director F. W. Murnau’s European expressionist style drips from every frame. The use of shadows, camera angles and forced perspective creates a vivid fantasy-like world that our characters inhabit.

Unlike other silent films, Murnau lets the story tell itself, keeping the use of title cards to a bare minimum. This forces the actors to step up their game a notch. Their faces tell the tale fantastically. Janet Gaynor won Best Actress at the first Academy Awards for her role as The Wife and it’s clear why. Silent films are often panned by modern audiences because of the need to over-emote and exaggerate expressions but there is very little of that here. Gaynor’s expressions of sadness, heartbreak and joy feel genuine. George O’Brien should have been considered for Best Actor, because his performance is marvelous. His cold stare as he prepares to drown his wife pierces and terrifies in a way few films have managed to replicate since. Simply put, Murnau delivers silent film acting at its finest.

The dearth of title cards does another unique thing for the film. It allows and invites the audience to process, understand and analyze the film on their own terms. If you want to see just the surface, you will see a redemptive love story. If you want to go deeper, you will discover at least a half-dozen themes: virtue vs. lust, small town values vs. big city vices, isolation, man vs. self, man vs. temptation, and the list goes on. Is it any wonder that this film won the first and only Academy Award for Best Picture of Unique and Artistic Production? The award was merged the Best Picture- Production award the following year to create one definitive Best Picture award, but seeing how the awards were split makes perfect sense when comparing Sunrise to its inaugural Oscar counterpart Wings.

Murnau also delivers the goods with his work behind the camera. He and his cinematographers use some innovative techniques for 1927, including a tracking pan that follows the actors through a swampy set. Putting the camera in motion like this revolutionized filmmaking when Murnau first utilized it in Germany three years before coming to America to make this film. I haven’t seen very many films from the 1920s and earlier yet but even I was able to recognize how radical this technique was for the early days of film. Murnau also employs flawless superimpositions in scenes where The Man is being tempted by thoughts of The Woman From The City. Again, this is mind-blowing stuff for the 1920s.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans lays it all out and lets you pick up from it whatever you want. It’s a multidimensional film accessible to everyone. That alone is a triumph in storytelling and style. It’s a shame that this film had to come around at the dawn of the ‘talkies’ because Sunrise could have been the prototype for a new era of silent films. The advent of sound took Hollywood a step forward and two steps back artistically but it would rebound in due time. It’s a tragedy that this film is not talked about outside of film scholars and historical circles.

RATING: 4.5 out of 5