
Alexander Sokurov’s “Faust”: Projection of Political Disasters in the History of the XX Century on Goethe's Tragedy
Author(s) -
Nikolai A. Khrenov,
Хренов Николай Андреевич
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
vestnik vgik
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2713-2471
pISSN - 2074-0832
DOI - 10.17816/vgik5430-41
Subject(s) - faust , tragedy (event) , interpretation (philosophy) , statement (logic) , politics , reading (process) , literature , order (exchange) , philosophy , history , art history , epistemology , art , political science , law , linguistics , finance , economics
The Sokurov’s film, based on Goethe's tragedy, is not a usual screen version. The use of a classical piece in order to make a statement about the present could turn into a vulgar and superficial interpretation. But the director’s idea to include new film into the tetralogy, i.e. the group of films dedicated to the dictators of the XX century, implies close reading of the original. Trying to understand the initial Goethe's intensions, the author (series of articles, the beginning see Issue # 17) discovers a source of complex of de monism in the Western culture, which includes explanation of the masses’ perception of the political leaders.