'Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans' (F.W. Murnau, 1927)

Title: 'Sunrise: A Song of Two Human'

Release Year: 1927

Director: F. W. Murnau

Cast: Janet Gaynor, George O'Brien, Margaret Livingston.

Plot: After almost killing her wife (Gaynor) incited by his lover (Livingston), The Man (a nameless character played by O'Brien) tries to get her back in a trip that would change their lives.

Review: The first best picture Academy Award winner and also the only fully silent one to win the prize (an honor shared with 'Wings'). It's not something that everyone can say. And not for no reason. 'Sunrise' outstands in many aspects that made of it a noteworthy movie.

First, it was a pioneer in terms of technical achievement; the superimposed sound or the way it had to go from one scene to another are some examples of that.

Moreover, it's filled with plenty of symbolism; the fact that the characters are nameless, the sun that rises as the love triumphs in a wonderful ending...

As the sun rises, 'The Man' and 'The Wife' kiss in a beautiful and powerful ending, thanks to a marvelous score (starting at minute 8:33 in the video)

As if that was not enough, the movie title can be seen as a metaphor of what the film is; 'a song of two humans' referring to how husband and wife try to reconnect after their marriage deals with his betrayal. I haven't decided yet if he should be forgiven or not, but taking in account how he struggles with guilt as he tries to make it up for his mistakes and how he ends up desolate when he thinks she's dead, it's reasonable giving him a second chance. Without taking in account the personal opinions about the ending, 'Sunrise' has many reasons to be remembered, including its first Best Actress Academy Award winner Janet Gaynor, who gives here a great leading performance in one of the first interesting roles I've seen from an actress to this point of the project.

Janet Gaynor gives a remarkable performance as 'The Wife' in 'Sunrise'