story within a story

Yes, the framing device did not seem cohesive with the main body of the story, but I don't think it was nearly as bad as Kracauer perceived it. I recognize the sense of injustice associated with the tampering of the writers' original artistic vision, but I think that their message still came through. When we watched the final scene of the film last week, I highly doubt that anyone went back to their rooms feeling as though we could disregard the story as the ramblings of a madman. Many of us left feeling confused, or even doubtful, as Allison noted, of the magnanimity of the director. I think it's funny that, personally, the one character whose "realism" I never questioned, was Francis. Everyone else seemed slightly off: the slow-acting policemen; the asylum doctors who were all to willing to help Francis as confine him; even Jane, who appeared like a ghostly wanderer even before she clinically went mad. And even after reading the article, I still don't think Cesare was completely innocent.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed Caligari, especially for the disturbingly disproportionate backdrops and the engaging music, I did have a couple of discrepencies with the storyline (I tend to be picky about these sorts of things). For instance, did anyone else notice how Jane never revealed her choice of lover, Francis or Alan, because of the shock of Alan's death? Probably insignificant, I know, but it bothered me, especially because I think she would've chosen Alan, which would've rendered Francis' love unreciprocated. Also, why was Jane wandering the streets at night and why would she leave with two strange men, when there was a known killer prowling the town? And if Francis was pronounced mad only because he insisted the director was Caligari, why would they confine him in the same building as the object of his obssessive delusions? Why not simply ban him from the asylum?

This film left me with so many unanswered questions, which, in a strange sense, makes me feel more satisfied with our first experience with avant-garde film than if all my questions had been resolved.