Thursday, April 5, 2012

Faust (2011)

Faust (2011)

Genre: Fantasy Drama
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
Starring: Johannes Zeiler, Anton Adasinsky, Isolda Dychauk
Language: German
Duration: 134 min.
Rating: 7.6  

Summary:
A version of the German legend in which a man sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge.



Faust is a film directed by Aleksandr Sokurov, based loosely on the legend of Faust and its many adaptations including a novel by Yuri Arabov, and the play by Johann Wolfgang Goethe. It premiered at the 2011 Venice International Film Festival where it won the Golden Lion for Best Film.

An adaptation only in name, Sokurov takes the familiar folk legend and twists molds and shapes a story completely his own. A somewhat long winded and definitely challenging tale presented with a strange and ghastly green atmosphere and the frequent use of soft focus and lens distortion, amongst his other usual stylistic tricks.

Faust (2011)

This version of Faust (Johannes Zeiler), is a poor doctor who struggles even to pay for bread, and finds himself resorting to the town's moneylender, played to perfection by Anton Adasinsky, emanating evil with every step of his fat plodding walk, grotesque mannerisms, and even more repulsive body. Though instead of a greed for knowledge, Sokurov's Faust has much simpler desires which don't become clear until later.

The bulk of the film follows along as the Devil leads Faust on a dreamlike tour through the city, the camera swoops and glides, sometimes distorted like a fun-house mirror and sometimes not, but always sporting a fantastic look made to emulate old photographs with its square vignetted frame and filtered palette of pale greens and greys. The scenes flow almost like a stream of consciousness, with constant movement from the camera and the players, and endless dialog that made me wish I could understand German because at times there was no way the subtitles could capture everything spoken.

Faust (2011)

Despite the wonderful visuals, which in addition to the flawless cinematography, includes marvelous costume and set design, some startlingly gruesome effects, and a stunning finale shot amidst Iceland's volcanic geysers (if that's what Hell looks like, I wouldn't mind spending eternity there), the incessant chattering and quite often cramped staging (personal space means absolutely nothing to the characters here) does start to get tiresome after awhile.

So it can be a test of patience, but it is still an impressive and rewarding telling and I can definitely see why the Darren Aronofsky led jury gave this boldly realized adult fairy tale the Golden Lion.

Bonjour Tristesse

Faust (2011)

Faust (2011)

Faust (2011)

Faust (2011)

Faust (2011)

Faust (2011)

Faust (2011)

Faust (2011)

17 comments:

d_4 said...

Ohhh this sounds interesting! I'll search for this soon, I think I'll be able to enjoy it quite well..

FrontRoomCinema said...

Interesting screen ratio.... :-)

Mette said...

I saw the trailer in our theater, and thought it looked really weird... but already the name "Faust" scares me away... so I don't think I'll watch it.

Margaret said...

Excellent review, I really have to see this one. The movie looks like it has some great visuals and the movie poster alone is very interesting.

Jason said...

I studied Christopher Marlowe's version of Faust in high school. I was intrigued by the play because it was very imaginative and dark so to read that the director of "The Sun" and the incredible "Russian Ark" has adapted this for screen leaves me very excited. I'll have to track this down.

The Reel Foto said...

That was... a strange trailer...

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I think so too. Hopefully you can find it.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Interesting and strange. I don't usually like when new films use a square ratio, but it works here because of the overall look and style.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

 I understand, but thanks for visiting and commenting anyways I appreciate it!

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thank you Margaret. It does have some intense visuals, and I'm surprised you are the only one to mention the provocative poster.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah Sokurov is definitely one of the most interesting directors working today, and I need to dig through more of his back catalog.

Danny said...

Yeah, that's a hell of a poster. I'll have to look for it. Thanks!

Bonjour Tristesse said...

 Thanks for reading!

Tyler said...

I absolutely love Aleksandr Sokurov. I've only seen Russian Ark, but ironically, I'm watching Mother and Son tonight (and I shall see Father and Son next week, hopefully). I have been hanging out for this film, Faust, for a while. Can't wait till it gets a release here.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Likewise, the only other Sokurov film I've seen is Russian Ark. I look forward to eventually catching up with the rest of his work.

Adina Chitu said...

I saw half of an hour of it so far...the angles are pretty impressive and the colors remind me of the Brothers Quay technique  :D

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks. I haven't seen anything from the Quays yet, is there a title that you would recommend I start with?

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