Sunrise (1927, F.W. Murnau)An unhinged farmer neglects his wife in favor of a mistress from the city who is vacationing on the countryside. She suggests he should kill his wife by faking a boating accident, because murder is apparently the only way to end a relationship and begin another. His first response is to strangle the mistress, but then he sees it her way. Except, when it comes to doing the deed, he takes pity on his wife and decides to have fun and laughs in the city with her instead. So all is well, except when they return to farmer's land, there is a storm and a non-faked boating accident. Also, the mistress gets strangled again. But due to that accident, the wife's hair got loosened up and now she looks really pretty. Thus all the mistress can do is sulk and return to the city alone, while the farmer and his wife live happily ever after.
Call me a heartless bastard for making fun of an apparently beloved film about romance and stuff, but I found it infuriating. On a technical level though, there is much to admire. Gorgeous sets, expressionistic angles, inspired camera tricks, etc - the whole shebang Murnau brought with him from Europe.
