Dr. Caligari

I liked the framing device used in “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” though I don’t have quite as a convincing argument as Allison. Personally, I liked the way it helped to disorient and confuse the audience. It provided some ambiguities (Is Francis crazy? Is that really Dr. Caligari? Why is Cesare alive and awake? What’s up with Jane?) that would not have otherwise been present. Since what I liked most about the film was how much it made me think, I appreciated the unanswered questions with in the frame. I also liked how the frame helped to set the tone for the piece; we begin in an insane asylum and end in an insane asylum, and the whole time we’re watching crazy images.

I will also disagree with the article when it claimed that the craziness of the set, costumes, and make up where not due to the story being told by Francis. I think that, even though the mental hospital is supposed to be based in reality, the choice to keep it consistent with the rest of the movie provides more evidence for Francis’s delirium. If you assume that Francis is crazy, I think it makes sense that what he sees as “reality” is also the same as what he sees when he retells a story. Who’s to say that the images we see in the frame story are not also projected by Francis, anyway?