Embedded Files
Written on January 14th, 2024.
SYNOPSIS: An illusionist turns a shadowy puppet show into a violent premonition of what might occur if the wife of a jealous German baron continues to flirt with dinner guests.
Warning Shadows is a 1923 German Expressionist feature film. It depicts a count who invites three gentlemen and one of their servants into his house for dinner with him and his wife. The men are taken by her beauty and she in turn appears flirtatious towards them, to the irritation of her husband. A puppeteer arrives seemingly unwelcomed, but is allowed in to perform a play projected through the use of shadows, which similarly depicts advances made by the gentlemen and the woman. The story ultimately appears to result in the infuriated count forcing the men to kill his wife, to his subsequent despair and regret. In retaliation, they threaten the count with their swords and push him out a window to his death. It is revealed that these events were part of the play, a cautionary tale about desire. The count gives the puppeteer a tip in satisfaction, the gentlemen leave the house, and the count and his wife embrace each other in joy.
Characteristics of German Expressionist cinema demonstrated in the film:
• Mise-en-scène – Visual elements appear dramatic, such as through production design, costume design, hairstyling, and exaggerated lighting. Examples:
Surreal set design
Fancy costumes and hairstyles
As the title of the film suggests, there are many images of dramatic shadows, meant for the expressionistic style rather than appearing typical. Examples:
The puppeteer controls the shadows of the characters twice in the film. Once before he performs his show, causing them to freeze and stop moving, and once again after he finishes, allowing them to relax. The act appears like hypnotising them into a dream, from when they fall asleep till when they wake up:
• Theatrical acting performances – Influenced by the Expressionist movement of drama and theatre in Germany, performance through actors’ facial expressions and body language were exaggerated, to emphasise the emotions and psychology of the characters.
The count in shock, when he sees the silhouette of his wife appearing to be kissed by one of the gentlemen.
The woman in fear, when her safety is threatened.
• Dark subject matter – German Expressionist films often dealt with dark themes like anxiety, cruelty, and death, in light of World War I. The film similarly contains distrust (the gentlemen invited to dinner by the count repeatedly flirt with his wife, while she also seduces them), trickery (the puppeteer shows up at the house uninvited and his performance turns out to be a mockery of the other characters), and violence (the count physically threatens his wife and the gentlemen, resulting in his and his wife’s deaths in the play).
I found that the film also explores servitude, with the woman slapping the butler when she notices him smirking, the count pushing him when he acts strangely, and later forcing him to restrain his wife, perhaps a reminder of the Nazi Party’s ruling and control of the German people. Another theme is poverty – the entire film takes place in the count’s majestic mansion, with grand décor like a towering library and patterned walls, with several butlers and a small band. When two gentlemen and one of their servants leave at the end of the film, they encounter one of the butlers sitting on the porch. Two of the men fiddle in their pockets before brushing it off and not offering their coins as a tip. Subsequently, the final scene depicts the count and his wife looking down at the townsfolk below, as a pig runs away from a boy, and the folks laugh gleefully to the woman’s delight. She then looks at her husband and he appears reluctant. This seems to emphasise an economic disparity, in line with the country’s financial crisis after the war due to hyperinflation. The woman seems to appreciate the common people while the wealthy count feels otherwise. German Expressionism thereby worked to represent these themes, regarding the inner emotions and conflicts of the people.
Other notable points I observed in this film:
⁃ Use of ring-like framing and transitions, where a ring would shrink before the subsequent shot.
⁃ Multiple exposures of the woman’s image against the gentlemen’s hands below and a man’s face to the side, appearing to be yearning for and glorifying her.
⁃ Invisible mirror shot
In this scene, the count (in the foreground) sees his wife embracing one of the gentlemen (background). It initially appears that the count is pressing himself against the wall to avoid being noticed by his wife a short distance away. As the gentleman leaves the bedroom, he emerges on the left of the frame, revealing that the image previously seen was not the bedroom doorframe but rather a large mirror. Though this shot appears to be an effect added in post-production, as the placement of the mirror seems impossible to capture the image from where the bedroom is supposed to be.
Yet it reminds me of an iconic shot from Contact (1997), where the character is seen running across a hallway before the image is revealed in a mirror, a transition accomplished through visual effects.
⁃ “Film within a film” narrative technique
As mentioned, the film appears to result in the deaths of the count and his wife, before revealing that the scenes were part of the puppeteer’s play. By using this technique, it presents the scenario of consequences that could occur should the gentlemen and the woman continue their flirtation, offering a branch narrative as part of the film’s storyline and thereby depicting two different outcomes of the story, one ending with the couple in tragedy and the other with them in joy.
The above examples support the traits of German Expressionist cinema in being unconventional and dealing with dark themes, unlike American films of the Silent Era.
Despite my analysis, it was difficult to examine this film. It is entirely without intertitles, unlike the three other silent features I have written about. Intertitles were typically used in the Silent Era not just as descriptions of scenes but also to deliver important lines of dialogue. A story told entirely through visuals faces the difficulty of adequate communication to audiences, and while this may be easier in a short film, this 90-minute picture turned out excruciatingly difficult to comprehend. Similarly, The New York Times writes, “It is not long before this picture begins to create a desire to yawn, and half an hour after it has been cavorting across the screen you may become fidgety”, while a review from New York Post shares, “Numerous lights and shades are certainly in evidence, with the shadows, unfortunately, predominating to such a degree that the spectator is often left entirely in the dark as to what is going on.” After watching the film the first time, I had little idea of its events, despite seeing it in one seating. I then read audience reviews which did not give a detailed breakdown but did provide a brief understanding, before watching it a second time. With no intertitles and no introductory context to establish the setting and scenario, it was tough to be engaged with the film. It lacks a flow in visual storytelling particularly in the first half, in that I was often unable to recognise the continuous action from one scene to the next, and the film often intercuts among distant characters and different areas of the house. There is also a sequence where the butler runs after the woman with a rope, though it did not appear that the count had commanded him to restrain her yet.
The film may also be containing too many characters, with the count and his wife, the puppeteer, three gentlemen, one of their servants who is always with them, multiple butlers and a maid in the house, and occasional extras like musicians hired by the count. When storytelling is driven solely by visuals, too many faces clutter the frame, and the unfamiliarity with the actors make it hard to discern the characters from one another.
The three gentlemen and one of their servants
Despite the confusion the film brings, I do admire the uniquely photographed shadows, period costumes, and intricate sets. Above all, the references to social and economic disparity are the aspects I appreciate most, a semblance of meaning behind the fanciful visuals, and likely a commentary on the living conditions in 1920s Germany.
Reflection
Reflection
Challenges experienced
I found it extremely tough to understand the film's events, such that after watching it, I read all user reviews found on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd, which did help somewhat but unfortunately did not provide much insight, in part due to the film being little known. I subsequently watched the film again before beginning to write about it.
Room for improvement
I still did not fully understand the film the second time so it could have been more thorough, though it was hard to find good details of the film.
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