Faust (1926)

I'll grant it'd be a stretch to call this a Christmas movie. Only the last fifteen minutes or so are set at Christmas (and even then there's a little ambiguity surrounding the timeline), but that sequence is both thematically rich and interesting as a case study in how the holidays were viewed in the 1920s. More than that, if you think I'm above grasping at any opportunity to discuss a movie made by F. W. Murnau, the director of Nosferatu, through the prism of holiday media, you're seriously mistaken.

In some ways, Faust is an even more impressive accomplishment than Nosferatu. The design and composition of some of these shots is incredible. Make up effects, set decoration, lighting, and camera angles are used to create some gorgeous sequences that - in the expressionist tradition - warp reality into something new. There were moments when actors almost looked more like stop-motion marionettes or animated figures than real people. Likewise, the balance between shadow and light controls the audience's focus and leaves you with the impression you're staring at moving artwork. Murnau was pushing the medium in new directions, and even a full century later the effect is breathtaking to behold.

That said, there's a price to be paid for getting something this polished. The best remembered films of the expressionist movement have more of an edge to them. Movies like Nosferatu or The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari feel as if they're tapping into a vein of actual madness. That unhinged quality is absent from Faust, which feels as though its using the techniques but lacking the spirit. Think about the difference between a big budget horror movie and edgy independent production, and you'll be on the right track. The world's richer for both approaches, but it's worth acknowledging the tradeoff.

I should acknowledge I'm not any kind of expert when it comes to the folklore or literature this is based on, so I'm not going to have much to offer in terms of commentary on individual choices or deviations from other versions.

The movie kicks off with a sequence Disney would "borrow" from when making the Night on Bald Mountain sequence in Fantasia. After this, the devil, Mephisto, makes a bet with an angel that he can corrupt Faust, an elderly scholar who seems driven by a love of knowledge and the desire to help those around him. The angel agrees to stake dominion over the world on this bet, which seems like something he shouldn't be gambling with until the ending reveals he had an ace in his sleeve.

Mephisto sends a plague to drive Faust to desperation. When the old man is unable to cure the disease, he eventually resorts to summoning the devil, who offers to serve him. Originally, the arrangement is just for a one-day trial period. At first, this seems like a good deal, until Faust's newfound aversion to religious symbols reveals he's in league with the devil. The people he'd been helping turn on him, and he relies on Mephisto to bring him to safety. Mephisto also restores his youth.

Next, we get a sequence in which Mephisto helps Faust pretend to be a prince and seduce a princess. My guess is this either directly or indirectly inspired Disney a half century later: it bears a striking resemblance to the Prince Ali sequence in Aladdin, albeit with more murder and sex. Anyway, it's going well for Faust until his one-day timer runs out just when he's about to sleep with the princess. He quickly agrees to make the arrangement permanent.

Following a time jump, we find Faust depressed. He wants to return home, and the devil is contractually obligated to assist. He coincidentally finds himself back on Easter - put in a pin in that. He also finds himself smitten with Gretchen, a virtuous young woman. Mephisto tries to redirect his affections, but Faust is adamant Gretchen's the only woman he's interested in. The devil helps him win her with a necklace and a few tricks. However, the devil (being the devil) plays some tricks of his own, arranging for Gretchen's brother to arrive home to catch Faust about to leave after sleeping with her. The men fight, and Mephisto stabs the brother in the back, making it appear as if Faust struck the killing blow. He then ensures the authorities find out, forcing Faust to make another quick demon-assisted exist.

Gretchen, however, is left behind to face the consequences. While she didn't kill her brother, she's placed in a stockade for her tryst and ostracized by the community. Time for another time jump, this one nine months in duration. And that brings us to...

Christmas!

And we know it's Christmas, because we see people singing carols to a statue of Mary and Jesus as an interstitial proclaims, "And a little child has been born in the depth of winter." Unsurprisingly, this has a couple meanings, as Gretchen has given birth to an infant. Unfortunately, she's still not welcome anywhere and has been driven mad by her ordeal, so she's left wandering in the cold winter night pleading for help and mercy for her child.

She doesn't find it. The baby winds up dying in the snow under a crumbling shelter evocative of manger scenes. When some soldiers find Gretchen, they blame her for the child's death and sentence her to be burned alive for the crime. She cries out to Faust, who magically hears her and commands Mephisto to bring him to Gretchen. The devil, once again being the devil, is less than helpful. They arrive in time to see Gretchen being tied to the stake, but there doesn't seem to be anything Faust can do but curse his own decision for accepting youth. Mephisto, bound by their compact, returns Faust to old age, and the now-old man manages to climb up to Gretchen and die along with her.

At the end, the angel confronts the devil and explains that all his meddling was undone because of a single word, love, which redeemed the lovers in the end.

If you ask me, the angel cheated, but then I'm not a lawyer. Let's focus on the Christmas sequence, because - while it's certainly not subtle - it is where the movie seems to have the most to say. The themes here, of course, concern the hypocrisy of passing judgment and the idea that love is the true reflection of the divine. The people who cast Gretchen and her baby into the cold then sentence her to die are portrayed as monstrous, even demonic, while she resembles Mary. There's nothing righteous in punishment, only in love and forgiveness.

The image of a young woman or girl being turned away at Christmas and dying as a result echoes The Little Match Girl (and quite a few other dramas of the era). Using the holidays to invoke pity on those in need and to ask audiences to question their own shortcomings was common in 19th century literature and early film. Aspects are present in A Christmas Carol, as well, which like Faust incorporates supernatural elements.

Turning towards the future, I was also struck by how similar elements of Murnau's Faust are to the holiday sequence at the end of Night of the Hunter. Given how heavily expressionism seems to have influenced the latter, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this adaptation of Faust inspired Laughton to incorporate Christmas into his film.

It's also interesting seeing the nine month time difference between Easter and Christmas used as a plot point. A great deal of modern scholarship has pointed to this as the origin of the idea of Jesus being born on Christmas, with March 25th invoked as the presumed date of both the immaculate conception and death of Christ. My understanding is this is based on relatively new research, so its presence here is almost certainly a case of Murnau (or whatever source he's drawing from) backdating nine months from a Christmas birth and setting the lovers' meeting on Easter. It should be noted they don't spend the night together for a couple days, so it's not a precise parallel. Still, I find it interesting to see that aspect of the Christ mythos replicated.

On the whole, I find the holiday elements in Faust both fascinating and ethical, but that's not the reason I'm recommending checking this out. The real selling point here is the visual impact of the movie, which somehow holds up a full hundred years after its creation. This is first and foremost a gorgeous work of cinematic art that any fan of the medium should find rewarding to watch. I may not be as unnerving as Nosferatu, but as a purely visual work it's incredible for its time.