Tartuffe

F.W. Murnau’s 1925 interpretation of Molière’s 'Tartuffe' is a sophisticated exercise in meta-textual storytelling, utilizing a contemporary frame narrative to justify its theatrical core. The plot centers on a devious governess who, having successfully isolated a wealthy patriarch from his rightful heir, maneuvers to secure his vast inheritance through a facade of ascetic devotion. In a desperate gambit to pierce his grandfather’s delusion, the disinherited grandson arrives with a traveling cinema troupe. He projects a filmed version of the classic play, creating a mirror through which the old man might recognize the sycophantic parasite in his own parlor. Within the inner film, Emil Jannings delivers a visceral, almost repulsive performance as the titular hypocrite, while Lil Dagover portrays the besieged Elmire with a luminous, strategic grace. The film serves as a dual exploration of the power of the cinematic medium to reveal hidden truths and a scathing indictment of the performative nature of piety.