From Morn to Midnight (1920)

 Karlheinz Martin's "From Morn to Midnight"


1920 brought an explosion of Expressionism to German films after the massive success of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." Karlheinz Martin attempted to recreate the magic from that film by attempting a film that mirrored its minimalist set pieces. With "From Morn to Midnight," Martin was able to use stylized sets, like "Caligari" to demonstrate an avant-garde way of illustrating an abstracted environment around the character. 

The film is broken down into 5 acts. The 5 acts tell a story about a banker who suffers an exestential crisis. He begins to see skeletons in the faces of others. This makes him think about him impending death. On top of this, he gets sick and tired of his wife, daughter, and mother at home. So, he steals money from the bank and decides to spend the rest of the day being frivilous. 

The film sees an attempt at the representation of the Germany way of thinking after the war. When faced with the immediacy of death, the Germany people went into a state of abandonment and frivolity. This picture represents that frantic suppression. 




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