Phantom
dir. F. W. Murnau · 1922
Feature
Identity Crisis
Mood
Melancholic / Romantic
Look
expressionistic with dreamlike sequences
Structure
episodic with dreamlike transitions
Plot
Lorenz Lubota is a city clerk with no direction in life. One day on his way to work he is run over by a woman driving a chariot and he is immediately infatuated with her. His life begins to spiral out of control as he searches for this girl and tries to win her heart.
Why watch
Lorenz Lubota, a city clerk, finds his mundane existence shattered when he is struck by a woman in a chariot, igniting an obsession that spirals his life into chaos. Watching this film is like wandering through a dreamscape where the boundaries of reality blur, revealing the profound loneliness and longing that accompany unfulfilled desires.
Talking points
- the impact of urban life on personal identity
- the nature of love and obsession
- the role of fantasy in coping with reality
- the evolution of silent film aesthetics
Cultural context
post-World War I disillusionmentrise of modernist arturbanization and its alienationearly film as a new art form