''Faust'' (russian: Фауст) is a 2011 Russian film directed by
Alexander Sokurov
Alexander Nikolayevich Sokurov, PAR (russian: link=no, Александр Николаевич Сокуров; born 14 June 1951) is a Russian filmmaker. His most significant works include a feature film, ''Russian Ark'' (2002), filmed in a s ...
. Set in the 19th century, it is a free interpretation of the
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
legend and its respective literary adaptations by both
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...
(
1808
Events January–March
* January 1
** The importation of slaves into the United States is banned, as the 1807 Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves takes effect; African slaves continue to be imported into Cuba, and until the island ab ...
) as well as
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
. The dialogue is in German. The film won the
Golden Lion
The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...
at the
68th Venice International Film Festival
The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy between 31 August and 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino was p ...
. At the
2012 Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards the film was awarded the prizes for Best Film, Best Director (Alexander Sokurov), Best Script (Yuri Arabov) and Best Male Supporting Actor (Anton Adasinsky). It received generally positive reviews from critics.
Plot
Heinrich Faust (Johannes Zeiler) is driven by his longing for enlightenment. He seeks to understand the very nature of life and how it makes the world go round. Driven by his burning desire for cognition, he even unearths corpses and rummages in their guts just to localize the home of the soul.
While he keeps on telling himself "in the beginning was the word", he gets to know the racketeer Mauricius (Anton Adassinsky), playing a worldly version of
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles (, ), also known as Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore. He originally appeared in literature as the demon in the Faust legend, and he has since appeared in other works as a stock character (see: Mephistopheles in t ...
, who eventually contradicts him: "In the beginning was the deed". In spite of being amorphic, Mauricius considers himself an ''
Übermensch
The (; "Overhuman") is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1883 book ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' (german: Also sprach Zarathustra), Nietzsche has his character Zarathustra posit the as a goal for humanity to set for itse ...
''. Faust's obscure new friend takes him to the twilight zones of their small town.
In a bath, his attention is caught by the young Margarete (Isolda Dychauk), also known as "Gretchen". Later the two new friends are entangled in a pub brawl, Faust accidentally kills Gretchen's brother. Faust becomes obsessed with Gretchen, who appears to embody the beauty of blooming life. He indulges himself in thinking that studying her would be reasonable as a part of his research about what makes all the difference between life and death. When the aging Faust has become irreversibly infatuated with Gretchen, Mephistopheles offers him to let him have her.
Faust cannot resist the idea of spending a night with Gretchen. Yet Mauricius demands nothing less than Faust's soul in return. Faust even has to sign the contract with his own blood. Now living on borrowed time, Faust can pursue Gretchen, but he is haunted by penitence and fear.
Finally Faust cannot bear Mauricius' nihilistic comments anymore. Overwhelmed with wrath, he buries Mauricius under rocks and finds himself lost in the middle of nowhere.
Cast
*
Johannes Zeiler
Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...
as
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
* Anton Adasinsky as Moneylender (
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles (, ), also known as Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore. He originally appeared in literature as the demon in the Faust legend, and he has since appeared in other works as a stock character (see: Mephistopheles in t ...
)
*
Isolda Dychauk
Isolda Dychauk (born 4 February 1993) is a German actress of Russian descent.
Career
Isolda Dychauk was born in 1993 in Surgut (West Siberia) and moved to Berlin in 2002 with her mother. In addition to her native language Russian, she learn ...
as Gretchen
* Georg Friedrich as Wagner
*
Hanna Schygulla
Hanna Schygulla (; born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German ...
as the Moneylender's'wife'
* Antje Lewald as Gretchen's mother
* Florian Brueckner as Valentin
* Sigurdur Skulasson as Faust's father
*
Maxim Mehmet
Maxim Mehmet (born 2 July 1975) is a German film actor. He inherited his Turkish surname from his Crimean Tatar grandfather. He lived with his spouse in Berlin before he moved to Vienna.Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
in ''
Moloch
Moloch (; ''Mōleḵ'' or הַמֹּלֶךְ ''hamMōleḵ''; grc, Μόλοχ, la, Moloch; also Molech or Molek) is a name or a term which appears in the Hebrew Bible several times, primarily in the book of Leviticus. The Bible strongly co ...
'' from 1999,
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
in ''
Taurus
Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to:
* Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign
* Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac
* Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus
* ''Bos taurus ...
'' from 2001, and the Japanese emperor
Hirohito
Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
in ''
The Sun'' from 2005. Producer Andrey Sigle said about ''Faust'': "The film has no particular relevance to contemporary events in the world – it is set in the early 19th century – but reflects Sokurov's enduring attempts to understand man and his inner forces."
Beyond the themes within the actual film, the project also had a political dimension. Sigle said: "The film is a big Russian cultural project and for
Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
is very important. He saw it as a film that can introduce the Russian mentality into European culture; to promote integration between Russian and European culture."
Production
The project, described in 2005 as "loosely based on works by Goethe and Thomas Mann", was announced by Sokurov in 2005 as "a very colourful, elegant picture with a lot of Strauss music and a smell of chocolate." The eight-million euro film was produced by the St. Petersburg-based company Proline Film and received support from the Mass Media Support Fund of Russia.
Filming started 17 August 2009 in the Czech Republic, where it continued for two months. Locations included the castles of
Točník
Točník is a municipality and village in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 300 inhabitants.
Sights
The municipality is known for the medieval Žebrák and Točník
Točník is a municipality and v ...
,
Lipnice nad Sázavou
Lipnice nad Sázavou (german: Lipnitz an der Sasau) is a town in Havlíčkův Brod District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
The village of Vilémovec is an administrative part of L ...
and
Ledeč, as well as the town
Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora (; medieval Czech: ''Hory Kutné''; german: Kuttenberg) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The centre of Kutná Hora, including the Sedlec Abbey and its ossuary, was designa ...
. Studio scenes were shot at
Barrandov Studios
Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe.
Several major Hollywood productions have been made here, including ''Mission Impossible'', '' ...
in Prague. Photography also took place in Germany. In October the team moved to Iceland for several days of filming resulting in some astonishing shots of geysers.
Release
The film premiered on 8 September 2011 in competition at the
68th Venice International Film Festival
The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy between 31 August and 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino was p ...
.
Three days later it was screened in the Masters section of the
2011 Toronto International Film Festival
The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 8 and September 18, 2011.
Buenos Aires, Argentina was selected to be showcased for the 2011 City to City programme. The opening film ...
.
Reception
''Faust'' has an approval rating of 65% on
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 37 reviews, and an average rating of 6.60/10. The website's critical consensus states, "It strays from the source, but whatever it might lack in fidelity, Aleksandr Sokurov's lengthy, ambitious ''Faust'' more than makes up in fresh energy and ideas". It also has a score of 65 out of 100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Jay Weissberg wrote in ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'': "Forget
Marlowe Marlowe may refer to:
Name
* Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), English dramatist, poet and translator
* Philip Marlowe, fictional hardboiled detective created by author Raymond Chandler
* Marlowe (name), including list of people and characters w ...
,
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
,
Gounod
Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
and
Murnau, or rather, lay them aside, since the idiosyncratic helmer adds his own spin on the classic legend, and an over-familiarity with Faust's previous incarnations will likely hinder understanding." In a reservation, Weissberg wrote that Sokurov's "established fans" will be "the only audience for this largely impenetrable though undeniably impressive indulgence". Regarding the visuals, he noted the unexpected collaboration between the cinematographer
Bruno Delbonnel
Bruno Delbonnel, , (born 1957) is a French cinematographer. He worked on the films ''Amélie'' (2001), ''A Very Long Engagement'' (2004), ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' (2009), ''Inside Llewyn Davis'' (2013) and '' Darkest Hour'' (2 ...
and Sokurov, and wrote: "
ile the stillness that marks the first films of his quartet (self-lensed) is little in evidence, visuals here are striking in their mottled gray tonalities. ... The influence of Flemish and Dutch painting on Sokurov's work has never been clearer than in ''Faust'', with its deep debt to the witchcraft paintings of artists such as
David Teniers and
Herri met de Bles
Herri met de Bles, also known as Henri Blès, Herri de Dinant, Herry de Patinir, and ''il Civetta'' (c. 1490 – after 1566), was a Flemish Northern Renaissance and Mannerist landscape painter, native of Bouvignes or Dinant (both in present-day B ...
."
Manohla Dargis of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote: "...and bliss out the next on the delirium that is “Faust,” the latest from Alexander Sokurov (“
Russian Ark
''Russian Ark'' (russian: link=no, Русский ковчег, ''Russkij Kovcheg'') is a 2002 Experimental film, experimental historical drama film directed by Alexander Sokurov. In ''Russian Ark'', an unnamed narrator wanders through the Winter ...
”). An eccentric interpretation of the
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
play, “Faust” is mesmerizing, at times predictably if divertingly bewildering and beautiful, with images that burn into your memory, like that of an embracing couple falling into a lake in a vision of desire and the abyss that invokes “L’Atalante” but is definitely Sokurovian."
At the closing ceremony of the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
, ''Faust'' was honoured with the festival's highest prize for best film, the
Golden Lion
The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...
. The jury president was the American filmmaker
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction.
Aronof ...
, who said when he presented the winner: "There are some films that make you cry, there are some films that make you laugh, there are some films that change you forever after you see them; and this is one of them."
References
External links
*
*
"Faust", Proline Film''Faust''Filming locations with real photos at Movieloci.com
{{Authority control
2011 films
Films based on Goethe's Faust
Films based on works by Thomas Mann
Films directed by Alexander Sokurov
Films set in the 19th century
Films set in Germany
Films shot in Germany
Films shot in Iceland
Films shot in the Czech Republic
2010s German-language films
Golden Lion winners
Russian fantasy drama films
Russian mystery films
Russian films based on plays