City vs. Country Values in Murnau's Sunrise (1927)

Introduction: The Film's Central Conflict

In F.W. Murnau's silent film Sunrise (1927), 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 and 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 the 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 home to 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 more comforting than the nameless, anonymous pleasure, rush, and thrill of city life. The contrast between city and country values is made evident from the very opening: the city values technology and motion; the country values space and leisure. In the film's closing, it is the sense of family and community that stands out as the true mark of country values in contrast to the passion of the city.

The City Woman as Urban Temptation

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 his duties there. She looks in the windows of a home she passes as though a tourist in a shopping center, imagining how the items inside might look nice in her own life. Finally she reaches the Man's home 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 fundamentally 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 toward 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 her, troubled in his soul. He is hunched over as though his conscience were weighing heavily on his shoulders. He sees the table set for 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. What she offers is the fun and fancy-free of city life: constant motion, a million distractions, a dizzying escapade free from want, guilt, or conscience — at least that is the song the siren sings.

Country Life and the Wife's Virtue

The neighbors see all and comment that the Man and the Wife used to be so happy and innocent. There is a flashback to the Wife with a baby in her arms as the Man approaches from behind the farm animals, plowing the fields. He dances and plays with the baby, then gets back to work. It is a moment of peace and happiness from earlier days — a representation of country values: work, family, peace, joy, and 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. This reflects the nature of city values: money and pleasure are its only currency. His entanglement with the city has caused problems 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 that of the City woman. The country Wife is dressed in clothes that make her look plain and domestic; she wears 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. This visual contrast encodes the film's deeper moral argument about urban and rural ways of life.

Conclusion: Sunrise and America's Dual Vision

Sunrise depicts a nation that sees the city in two ways, while seeing country life really in only one way — as a place of virtue. If there are any negatives to the country, it is only that it is not the city, with its bright lights, sounds, distractions, and lively engagements. However, the film shows that people who have found love need to secure themselves in their happiness by returning to the land — by settling in the country, getting back to nature, and keeping the corrupting influences of the city out of their lives.

Works Cited

Andrew, Dudley. "The Turn and Return of Sunrise." 1984.

Murnau, F. W. Sunrise. Fox, 1927.