BEFORE: There's a lot that happened while my blog was dark for three weeks. Some things were minor changes, like finally getting a new driveway - the old one's bugged us since we bought the house in 2004, especially when it came time to shovel the sidewalk each winter, a process made nearly impossible by its uneven surface. More importantly, my father-in-law passed away, and though my wife wasn't speaking to him often, it's still significant when a family member is no longer part of one's life. Even though I tend not to believe in things like the afterlife and final judgements, I was raised Catholic so those beliefs, mistaken as they may be, are still a part of my programming. So I feel conflicted when I go to a funeral and people talk about the deceased being in a better place, because that sort of goes against what I believe, unless they mean that things are so bad right now on Spaceship Earth that it's better to not exist at all than to be alive.
I'm always the one saying, "Well, we don't know for SURE what happens after we die..." and that's a statement that cuts both ways. Maybe nothing happens, maybe corporeal non-existence is just an eternal blank void, but isn't that nothing then technically something? Maybe it's like the movies, where your consciousness floats up (or sinks down) and you meet angels or devils and they've got a whole record of what you've done and what it adds up to. Or maybe religion's just a crutch, an antiquated belief system to keep the masses in line - that's my current belief, but if there is an eternal, long dark tea-time of the soul, that's not something I should be gambling with, right? How do I react as an agnostic in a way that also hedges my bets?
I'm sticking with German expressionist films tonight, and while this may not be a straight-out "horror" movie in the vein of last night's film, it's about the devil, right? Or at least a demon, so I think that qualifies. Actor linking is suspended for a few days, but I should be able to get back to it shortly. At least tonight's director will appear again tomorrow.
THE PLOT: The demon Mephisto wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man's soul.
AFTER: "Faust" is a classic story, rooted in German legend, which may be an off-shoot of the Biblical parable about Job, who suffers greatly but refuses to give up his faith. (Umm, I think, it's been a while...). There are several versions of "Faust", but this 1926 film is partially based on Goethe's re-working of the story in the early 1800's, as opposed to Christopher Marlowe's version from the 1500's. But this is the root of the "Devil temptation" story, which later manifested in works like "Damn Yankees", "Bedazzled", "Needful Things" and so on.
In this version, Faust is an aged scholar and alchemist, who is unable to help when a plague falls across his land - and this was back in the day when illness was believed to come from the Devil, not from germs or parasites or lack of sanitation. So when the plague hits, it's clearly the work of Satan, and since God created Satan, and doesn't seem to be taking a hand to stop the plague, then God is ultimately at fault. I mean, come on, God works in mysterious ways and all that, but help out some sick people once in a while, would it kill you, God? So Faust realizes that his learning is all for naught, and simultaneously loses his faith.
However, since the agents of the Devil do seem to play a more active role in the fates of Man, Faust contacts Mephisto, here an agent of Satan or some form of lesser demon, who agrees to serve Faust for 24 hours, granting him the power to save his people. Though the people shun his help, simply because his power comes from evil - OK, that's a hard lesson to learn. But soon the 24 hours are up, and that should be the end of the story, right? Faust goes to hell, we all learn not to make deals with the devil, case closed.
Only here in this version, that's NOT the end - Mephisto keeps tempting Faust for some reason, even though by my reasoning, he's already fulfilled the terms of the agreement, he gave Faust power, it didn't work out, so pack your bags, Faust, we're off to the netherworld. Mephisto then gives Faust back his youth, and takes him to a wedding feast in Italy, where Faust seduces the bride, a duchess, and Mephisto kills the groom. In order to make love to the Duchess, Faust has to sign over his soul. (Hey, we've all been there, am I right?) OK, game over, Faust gives up his soul, gets his freak on, and then he goes to Hell, end of story.
Only that's not the end either - these Germans LOVE to drag out a good temptation story, apparently. Faust returns home and Mephisto's dating service (like a netherworld Tinder, maybe it's called "Cinder") sets him up with another young beauty named Gretchen, and Mephisto gives her a golden chain so she'll fall in love with Faust. Faust sleeping with Gretchen causes Gretchen's mother to die from shock, and her brother Valentin dies in a duel with Faust, defending her honor. (Mephisto totally sucker-stabs him, but we should expect no less from the devil, right?).
It doesn't end well for Gretchen, either - she ends up in the stocks and then gives birth to Faust's baby (man, a lot happens during this 24-hour bet, right?) and I can only assume that Mephisto kept Faust on the hook all this time - after winning his soul, like THREE times over - because doing so caused so much chaos in the world. God may work in mysterious ways, but the devil's plans are a lot easier to figure out, I suspect. Faust loses his regained youth, and returns to her just as she is about to be burned at the stake - so really, this is a happy kind of German story, all things considered.
But if last night's film was really about post-WWI Germany, and the inability of the German people to rebel against authority, which set the stage for Hitler, then by extension, Faust is similarly about those citizens who are helpless to rise up against a tyrant, just as Faust is merely a pawn in the chess game between God and Satan. That seems to be the underlying fear here, that humans are not really in control, we think we have free will and control, but we're constantly surrounded by temptation, shortcuts to power or financial gain, or powerful figures making empty promises that will cost us more in the long run than we realize. And that's what Hitler took advantage of, promising to make the trains run on time, making Germany great again, just don't think about what happened to those Jewish neighbors you used to have.
I think you may realize where I'm going with this, because since Nazis are (apparently) fashionable again in our country, anything that's about Hitler is now about Trump by extension. The Devil comes along and offers you riches, power, even your lost youth, and all you have to do is sign this contract in blood, don't bother to read it. And Trump comes along and says he's going to cut taxes, fix healthcare, re-build our infrastructure, and there's going to be so much winning that you may get tired of winning, just don't think about what happened to all those immigrant neighbors that you used to have. And enough people fell for it, even though he might as well have been wearing a red suit with horns and forked tail. Damn it, people, if an offer sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
But sure, keep on believing that climate change isn't real, and doing nothing to fix the problem - just stop for a second and think about who benefits when next summer, it's hot as Hades. Coincidence?
NITPICK POINT: The whole side storyline with Gretchen's aunt goes absolutely nowhere - Gretchen visits her to bring her Satan's necklace - why? We're told that Gretchen's aunt makes love potions for the villagers - so what? Mephisto makes her a drink and makes goo-goo eyes at her - for what purpose? These seem like they could be important story elements, like maybe a love potion will be important, but none of these things turn out to be relevant, so why introduce them? This is 10 minutes of the story that could have been excised with no effect, it's just time-filler, right?
Starring Gösta Ekman, Emil Jannings, Camilla Horn, Frida Richard, William Dieterle, Yvette Guilbert, Eric Barclay, Hanna Ralph, Werner Fuetterer
RATING: 4 out of 10 archangels
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