“The song of a Man and his Wife is of no place and every place; you might hear it anywhere, at any time. For wherever the sun rises and sets, in the city’s turmoil or under the open sky on the farm, life is much the same: sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet.”
As its title suggests, F. W. Murnau composed this silent masterpiece more like music than like fiction. Sunrise creates a progression of emotions almost exclusively through the power of its images. Not one frame of film goes to waste. The visual effects, cinematography, editing, lighting, set design, and of course the actors’ faces tell a fairy tale that goes beyond words in a script. Even the rare title cards often contain an inspired degree of visual expressiveness. The Two Humans together explore the many dualities of life: man and woman, city and country, love and hate, night and day, sadness and joy, loneliness and unity. The story does not strive to be broad, but rather universal. Like a piece of music, Murnau’s film can speak volumes to people of all tongues, without saying a single word.
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