Retro Review | “The Golem” Ends my German Expressionism Journey
Spoilers beware.
And with this review, my journey into German Expressionist cinema comes to a bittersweet yet satisfying close with Paul Wegener and Carl Boese’s The Golem: How He Came into the World from 1920. While it isn’t my personal favorite of the films I’ve watched up to this point, The Golem has a lot going for it, from some impressive visual effects to Paul Wegener’s incredible performance that echoes the approach to Frankenstein many years later. The story of Jewish folklore coming to life and becoming a tragic monster, The Golem is a fascinating if somewhat thematically muddled film.
The film takes place in medieval Prague and sees Rabbi Loew, the head of a ghetto’s Jewish community, craft a large protector out of clay alongside his assistant in response to a threat foreshadowed by the celestial bodies. That threat? The Holy Roman Emperor decreeing that the Jews must leave the ghetto. In an attempt to save his people, he creates Golem, a massive being brought to life by a word spoken by the spirit Astaroth. However, creation turns against creator as Astaroth takes over Golem, wreaking havoc throughout the 16th century ghetto.
Although more reserved than The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari which released the same year, the German Expressionist principles still reside within The…
