Alexander Sokurov’s “Faust”: Goethe’s Philosophic Implications as a Problem

The article is devoted to the unique cinematic masterpiece — Sokurov’s attempt to use Goethe’s “Faust” for making a statement about the most acute phenomena of the recent century connected with the emergence of masses, mass societies and, consequently, of leaders and dictators. The author speculates on the reasons why Goethe’s great tragedy took so much time and effort to be writteen and was published in the final version only posthumously. The answer to this question helps us understand the message of the film.