Framing

I would have to agree with the others who posted before me about the framing device in the film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: the framing device detracted from the film. When I first viewed the film, I didn't even realize that there was a framing device at the end. The ending was so horribly maimed by the side story of Francis really being the insane one that I completely forgot the beginning of the movie and was only focused on the sloppy ending. This may be because the setting and unrealistic lines did not change at the end, or it could be because the framing device was unnecessary and merely marginalized the work as a whole. After reading the article online and discovering that the director added the framing device in direct opposition to the desires of the writers, I was even more perturbed. The writers wrote an incredible, gripping story that drew from personal experience, and the director maimed it with a shoddily tacked on framing story. Other than the ending however, the movie was quite enjoyable and thought provoking.