Robert Wiene's "The Cabinet of Dr Caligari" (1920) is a revolutionary German expressionist film that has since, heightened artistic ventures within the cinematic experience. At [42.54-45.00], the sequence of Cesare entering Jane's bedroom, attempting to kidnap her is a visual spectacle of cinematography in its incongruous composition which dives into the theme of human uncertainty. Thus, leaving the audience vulnerable to the depth of psychological terror which the film traverses. The sequence begins with an establishing long shot of Jane's bedroom preceding a jump cut to the somnambulist Cesare creeping alongside a wall towards the light in the periphery of the frame. The non-diegetic soundtrack coupled with Cesare's entry evokes a sense
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In the initial frame of the sequence, the long shot of Jane's bedroom unveils the distorted set design with sharp geometric angles and lines dictating the shot to create an ominous atmosphere. In such a way, Wiene has foreshadowed the emotional disharmony of the protagonists to indirectly communicate the idea of facing one's subconscious, to the audience. This vagueness of the inner mind is also reflected through the use of lighting with its backlit lighting of Cesare creeping to Jane's window, signalling a mysterious aura with the somnambulist blending into the frame as a shadow. Wiene tactically utlilises sharp shadows, the Chiaoscuro technique, to visualise the inner turmoil of the protagonists and the idea of malicious thoughts of the subconscious constantly lurking. The choice of a constant camera angle throughout the sequence on an eye level forces the audience to be contained in the action through which Wiene refuses escape to his spectators hence bombarding them with the grim reality. A key motif in the sequence is the significant contrast between circular and angular set design. In the long shot of Cesare peering through the window, the juxtaposition of the circular design on the wall with the array of lines behind Cesare embodies threat from the outside to a place where comfort should prevail and consequently
In the initial frame of the sequence, the long shot of Jane's bedroom unveils the distorted set design with sharp geometric angles and lines dictating the shot to create an ominous atmosphere. In such a way, Wiene has foreshadowed the emotional disharmony of the protagonists to indirectly communicate the idea of facing one's subconscious, to the audience. This vagueness of the inner mind is also reflected through the use of lighting with its backlit lighting of Cesare creeping to Jane's window, signalling a mysterious aura with the somnambulist blending into the frame as a shadow. Wiene tactically utlilises sharp shadows, the Chiaoscuro technique, to visualise the inner turmoil of the protagonists and the idea of malicious thoughts of the subconscious constantly lurking. The choice of a constant camera angle throughout the sequence on an eye level forces the audience to be contained in the action through which Wiene refuses escape to his spectators hence bombarding them with the grim reality. A key motif in the sequence is the significant contrast between circular and angular set design. In the long shot of Cesare peering through the window, the juxtaposition of the circular design on the wall with the array of lines behind Cesare embodies threat from the outside to a place where comfort should prevail and consequently