We watched Russian Ark in class, a 2002 experimental historical drama film directed by Alexander Sokurov. The film follows a narrator, who I think is a ghost, as he watches historical figures and goes through an art gallery. The film seems to be shot in one continuous, meandering take, which at times I found a little distracting. I still enjoyed the film though, and found myself drawn in from beginning to end despite it.
German Expressionism in film came about after WW1, after Germany lost the war. Germany wanted to revitalise the film industry and to create a better impression for the country. The German government subsidised the UFA (Universum-film AG), whose studios were the largest and best equipped in Europe. This became Germans golden age of cinema. German Expressionist film lasted from 1919 to 1933 when Adolf Hitler came into power. Unlike other Western films of that period that focused more so on creating realism, German Expressionism distorts reality to create an emotional effect. Expressionism films employed stylised set design, elaborate costuming, shadowy lighting that emphasises bold contrasts of dark and bright highlights and unnatural make-up. The settings are typically distorted and exaggerated, with key themes being madness, criminality and fracturing of identity. German Expressionism was a huge influence in developing the horror genre. They began to tell the story
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