Der Leuchtturm

Hier geht es um eine Nerd-Form, ausgezeichnete Schauspieler*innen, den Mut des Regisseurs zu experimentieren und seinen Ehrgeiz, etwas Neues zu machen. Die Tonspur nimmt Sie auf erstaunliche Weise gefangen. Sie ist gruselig und enthält ein tiefes Dröhnen des Leuchtturms. Eine ausgefeilte 4:3 Schwarzweißkomposition wie aus einem Horrorfilm vom Anfang des vorigen Jahrhunderts. Eine deprimierende Lagerkoller-Atmosphäre von einem abgelegenen, nebligen, windigen und innen feuchten und stinkenden Ort. Und der Konflikt von zwei männlichen Charakteren, auf welchen all diese Umstände keinen positiven Einfluss haben. Ihr Säufergeschwätz ist nicht gerade anregend, aber es charakterisiert gut die Figuren, den Ort und die Zeit. (08.01.2020)

In its reconstruction of 19th-century life and visual style of old films, The Lighthouse is an unprecedented curiosity made with great care and, in one view, makes perhaps as much sense (and is thus as carelessly blind) as a drunken sailor who has read Moby Dick and a few paragraphs of Greek mythology (particularly the story of Prometheus) and psychoanalysis (you reach the id only after pacification of the controlling superego). The plot stands on water, the relationship between the two men on alcohol. Instead of drama or any character development, there is only the building of an atmosphere which, in the end, leads to nowhere and serves no purpose; it is not legitimised by any unifying theme to which the film would adhere. It simply just is. The vagueness, eccentricity and signs of cognisance of the film’s pulpiness give the impression of being an intentional act on the part of the screenwriter, an attempt to sell a simple, self-regarding horror story to dramaturgs of A-list festivals. When everyone finds something in a film, that does not necessarily mean that there is actually something to be found in it. Due to the degree to which it depends on its two actors and sound effects, I would rather see The Lighthouse in the form of an absurdist stage play in which the riveting acting performances could overcome the terrible repetitiveness, predictableness and utter lack of flow. 55% (03.01.2020)

Just like in his The Witch, the director relishes creating the right atmosphere, but his film is very inapproachable; he makes every effort to spoil your viewing experience. The actors in the leading roles (Dafoe and Pattison) deliver superb performances, moreover in black and white, in a spooky, morbid environment with a hidden evil like from Lovecraft. I like all of this, but the inapproachability of the film makes it hard to give it better than average rating. It is, however, definitely a unique experience. (30.01.2020)

After The Witch, Robert Eggers directs another period and psychologically challenging piece, this time in black and white and square format, making it feel like it was made in 1910. that initially repulsed me, but eventually I found myself immersed in the plot and enjoying the nightmare driven to madness. Both Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson give great performances, the dialogue is impressive, the atmosphere thickens and there are a few disturbing scenes (a seagull being bludgeoned to death, a live burial, masturbation over a mermaid and the final scene is very raw). Here I can understand 10 stars and 0, so it depends on you, but I was not bored. 7/10. (08.01.2020)

The Lighthouse is a film where atmosphere is everything and the story is nothing. After the interesting and successful The Witch, Eggers had a free hand and he took advantage of it in his own way. He mocks the popcorn audience with their ideas of horror full of jumpscares and ghosts. Eggers is perhaps the only director who not only heard of Lovecraft and read something from him, but also thought about his work and was inspired by his theoretical foundations. Sartre already knew that hell is not devils, but other people. Put two ultimate sociopaths on a deserted island, give one an illusion of power, and expose the other to humiliation and the result will arrive soon enough. There is nothing, only loneliness, and boredom spiced up by memories of the sound of crushing human bones and failed relationships. Sexual frustration, bitterness, and rising levels of hatred supported by the distillate in the blood. The raging water element invigorates the imagination, just like a superstitious sailor's tales. Eggers impressively works with mythological references, with image and sound, and cleverly avoids literalness. Both actors reward him with excellent acting, the kind you don't see often. All in all, The Lighthouse is one of the most impressive horror films I have had the opportunity to see. Overall impression: 95%. (15.02.2022)

A sea the color of crude oil and the light of the lighthouse like the Divine Light. A crushing atmosphere of bullying, lies and madness. A great screenplay with psychologically unstable characters in the main roles, who move the action along with drunken spouting and gradual confiding in each other as they come face to face with starving to death. Teh farting Dafoe delivers an acting masterclass and the masturbating Pattinson is his star pupil who isn’t afraid of taking things to extremes. The mermaid hallucinations and being buried alive are moments of the year. Aye, lad! (30.12.2019)

Der Leuchtturm ist zweifelsohne ein bemerkenswertes Erlebnis. Ein Film, der aus Schwarz-Weiß-Aufnahmen im klassischen Seitenverhältnis besteht, voll von magischem Realismus, der in Naturalismus übergeht. Sogar die Sprache ist anders: Das Drehbuch ist inspiriert von der Sprache echter Matrosen des 19. Jahrhunderts und einer unvollendeten Kurzgeschichte von E. A. Poe. Das Ergebnis ist sicherlich beachtenswert, aber man kann darüber diskutieren, ob reiner Naturalismus nicht die angemessenere Form gewesen wäre. (19.03.2022)

As bizarre a as The Lighthouse is (and it’s very, very, very bizarre), there can be no doubt that it is also a superbly filmed master performance by two great actors that impresses the viewer exactly as the filmmakers intended. Basically, you feel you’re going crazy, too, while having fun. (17.06.2021)

A very empty exhibition of a talented machine to build a thick atmosphere; you can’t deny its depiction of period realism and the intentionally obsolete formal approaches (static shots, details, expressive acting, precise geometric composition), but it has absolutely nothing to offer the viewer seeking a meaningfully organised narration or some sort of distinctive process. The Witch headed somewhere and tied a loop around the viewer, who had set certain expectations, but The Lighthouse is self absorbed from the first to the last scene and never changes its nature and the pressure on the audience – and though in itself this isn’t annoying, it’s certainly not remarkable or in any way as subversive as Eggers wants it to be. 60% (18.01.2020)

Das sehr gut aufgenommene Schwarz-Weiß-Bild im quadratischen Format 1,19:1 ruft eine andere Zeit hervor, als ob der hypnotische Der Leuchtturm außerhalb von jeglicher Zeit und Raum entstanden wäre. Willem Dafoe und Robert Pattinson liefern eine grandiose schauspielerische Leistung und übertreffen sich gegenseitig darin, wer das wahnsinnigere Bild eines Verrückten darbietet. Die Entschlüsselung der Symbolik der Szenen und der Punkt des Films bietet alle möglichen Parallelen, die bis in die Antike reichen, aber ich möchte nichts verraten. Der Leuchtturm ist definitiv ein Film, den jeder auf seine eigene Weise interpretieren muss. Es handelt sich um einen sehr gelungenen Kunst-Horrorfilm, dem man die Einsamkeit und die Ausweglosigkeit vollkommen abnimmt. Bei Robert Eggers warte ich jedoch immer noch auf ein Element, das mich völlig aus der Bahn wirft, was hier nicht der Fall ist. Ich erkenne jedoch seine großartigen Regie-Fähigkeiten und seine einzigartige Vision an und bin sehr gespannt auf seine weiteren Regiearbeiten. Der Leuchtturm empfehle ich auf jeden Fall auf der großen Leinwand zu sehen und möglichst mit gut übersetzten Untertiteln. (06.10.2019)

Visuell, schauspielerisch und handwerklich fesselnd und unglaublich beeindruckendes psychologisches Drama mit Horror-Elementen, inspiriert von Seemannsgeschichten, Herman Melvilles Werk und antiker Mythologie. Man kann seine erdrückende klaustrophobische Atmosphäre, sorgfältig gestaltete Szenerie, unglaubliche Kameraarbeit, Arbeit mit Ton und symbolischer Beleuchtung sowie die schauspielerische Leistung beider Protagonisten bewundern, denen das Drehbuch gerecht angemessenen Raum gibt (abgesehen von einigen markanten gemeinsamen Szenen glänzen sie auch in ihrem eigenen langen Monolog). Realistisches, schonungslos autorschaftliches Werk, in dem überraschenderweise auch Humor einen Platz hat, zeichnet sich durch visuelle Anziehungskraft und maximale Regiepräzision aus und wirkt im Gegensatz zur Hexe zum Glück auch nicht im geringsten schwerfällig, übertrieben oder ungewollt lächerlich. (08.10.2019)

A story told in half-whispers at night by sailors somewhere in the hold of the Obra Dinn. With each retelling, new elements are added and some fade away again. The resulting tale is all the more frightening for the fact that it is impossible to decipher which parts of it are based in reality, and therefore all aspects of it, however unbelievable, feel real in the end. The irrationality of existence. Audience pro tip: watch it somewhere in a half-empty summer cinema stoned out of your mind. (16.06.2020)

A brilliantly sound edited but slightly self-indulgent arthouse wank that's even less accessible than The Witch. Still, there's something captivating and hard to define about it that makes it worth seeing (ideally in the cinema for that sumptuous sound). A farting Willem Dafoe, annoying seagulls, lots of bodily fluids, and mermaids as sex symbols. It wasn't bad, but I was expecting a bit more. Of the new wave of "modern horror" I much prefer Ari Aster, whose Midsommar was a boatload better. (14.01.2020)