From Greed to Repentance, 1922 Starting to watch this film, it is impossible not to say that there are a lot of intertiers in the film. Of course, this may not be the main problem when it comes to discussing the meaning of the film and the depth of the plot, but it is difficult to watch because of the abundance of text. The film itself is very good, albeit a bit confusing, compared to Murnau’s previous films. Here, as in his previous works, the locomotive of history is a drama built on love. Someone loves someone, but the feelings are not mutual, and there is a whole space of possible stories. One of them is described in this film. And the burning field is essentially a catharsis film, as the protagonist (an ambitious man), having rejected the village in which he grew up, rejecting the love of those who were close to him and using Countess Helga, tries to become “rich and independent, as he always dreamed.” But the film tells us that sooner or later, evil intentions are recognized and punished. In this case, Helga drowns in the river because of unhappy love, and Gerda avenges Johannes, setting fire to his “million dollar fortune” called the Devil’s Field. Johannes, at the end of the film, repents to his brother and is purified.
The theme of repentance “wandering” will still be found in the works of Murnau. The symbol of the victim, as the image of the climax of the film, its tragic outcome, was present before. In general, the film is not bad, but, in my opinion, is much inferior to his previous works due to the large number of intertitles, a multi-tiered plot, which is incomprehensible in parts, and not such a bright play of the actors, as, for example, in Castle Vogeled or Path to Night.
7 out of 10