Film Analysis of FW Murnau's 1927 Sunrise

Sunrise

In Murnau’s silent film Sunrise, the Woman represents the active allure of the City, the Wife represents the settled life of the rural countryside, and the Man/Husband represents the conflict between urban/rural life. What Sunrise tells us about America’s conflicting notions of city versus country values is that no matter where one is one is likely to find the same issues of virtue warring with vice. Indeed, the opening titles say as much: “For wherever the sun rises and sets…in the city’s turmoil or under the open sky on the farm, life is much the same; sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet.” Some evidence of this is the fact that Man and his Wife are not happy in the country for whatever reason, and the Man is tempted to murder his Wife by the Woman from the City, who promises some kind of grass-is-greener happiness. Yet in the city the Man and Wife witness a marriage and renew their vow to one another after a fun-filled day. On their return to their home in the countryside, they face a violent tempest that nearly kills them both. The point is that in both the city and the country, there is a sense of danger but also one of greatness. Nonetheless, the film does suggest that country values offer something that is more comforting than the nameless, anonymous pleasure, rush and thrill of city life. The contrast between city values and country values are in fact made evident right from the open: the city values technology and motion; the country values space and leisure. In the closing of the film, it is the sense of family and community that stand out as true country values in contrast to the passion of the city.

The film opens with a locomotive leaving the busy city and heading for the serenity of the countryside. The people disembark at a lakeside resort, which blends the business of city life with the serenity of the countryside. It is here that the viewer is introduced to the Woman, focused on her appearance, lighting a cigarette with a candle, wearing skimpy negligee. She is the temptress come to seduce the Man away from the country, his wife and duties there. She looks in the windows of a home she passes as though a tourist in a shopping center thinking to herself how the items inside might look nice in her own life. Finally she reaches the home of the Man and whistles for him. She wants him in her life—even though he is already married. What this suggests is that the City and its values are different from the Country and its values: Country values are family and commitment, honor and faithfulness. City values are different: in the city everything is commodified; everything is for sale. The Man hears the whistle and for him it is like the song of the sirens, calling him to a catastrophic fate. The troubled expression on his face indicates that he recognizes the danger. He slowly gets up and staggers to the door, but is stopped briefly by the appearance of his wife, who is dutifully setting the table for dinner. He feels dejected, aware that he is about to betray his wife, troubled in his soul. He is hunched over as though his conscience were weighing heavily on his shoulders. He sees the table, set for a two—it represents the values of home, hearth, heart and family. Then he looks to the window where outside an adulteress lurks, trying to steal him away from all he should value there. What she offers to him is the fun and fancy-free of the city life, where one is constantly on the go, running after a million distractions in a dizzying escapade, free from want, guilt or conscience—at least that is the song that the siren sings.

The neighbors see all and comment that the Man and the Wife used to be so happy and innocent and there is a flashback to the Wife with a baby in her arms as the Man approaches behind the farm animals, plowing the fields. He dances and plays with the baby and then gets back to work. It is a moment of peace and happiness from earlier days—the representation of country values: work, family, peace, joy, harmony with nature. However, the neighbors go on to comment that now the Man ruins himself for the City woman and that money-lenders have stripped the farm away. What does this reflect about city values: money and pleasure are its only values. His entanglement with the city has caused problems for him at home: and his wife, moreover, knows it. When she returns from the kitchen to find that he has snuck out, she instantly wilts. She feels she cannot compete with the fine song of the city siren. She feels her abandonment deep within herself. Her very appearance contrasts sharply with the appearance of the City woman. The country wife is dressed in clothes that make her look dowdy; she is wearing an apron and has her hair pulled tight around her head. The city woman on the other hand wears tight, form-fitting clothes that show off her shapely figure. Her hair is loose and only concealed by a hat. She is dressed to attract; the Wife is dressed for work and duty.

The Man and the Woman plot to get rid of the Wife—but the plan backfires when the Wife pleads for her life and the Man is overcome by guilt, remorse and regret. She flees in the moment for the city and he follows. Now the city is represented differently, however: it is not portrayed as a town full of craven thieves and sirens out to seduce. It is a place of business, yes, with street peddlers selling things like flowers. But it is also a place of civilization and one of the first things the Man and Wife see that gives them a moment of shared compassion is a bride entering a church for her wedding. Here in the city is a reflection of a shared value that they from the country have possessed—the virtue that comes from faithfulness, commitment and matrimony. They are reminded of their own vows and the Man now begs forgiveness from his Wife, whom he knows he has betrayed. Thus, in this moment the city becomes a means of salvation, a window onto the vision of life and happiness that they should be having.