The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one of the early exponents of expressionist
and art cinema. The techniques in the movie function as a kind of mirror rather than a
tool of entertainment. As an autonomous language specific to cinema has not yet been
developed, the relationship with reality is handled on a more subjective level. The
qualities of the space in Dr. Caligari oscillate between two-and three-dimensional
spaces. The built environment has its own reality and aims to reflect a kind of mental
construct in order to constantly express the subjective expression of the creator. The
director uses a frame story to change his perspective. The forms in the built
environment basically appear on the edge, as if they were deformed as a result of a
certain impact. The technique of a frame story has also been used in architecture by
means of intermediate spaces in order to blur the distinction between public and private
in architecture.
Keywords: Avant-garde cinema, avant-garde architecture, built environment, dystopia, Expressionism, expressionist cinema, expressionist architecture, frame, fiction in architecture, form-function, horror movie, intermediate space, modern architecture, perspective, robert Wiene, story, standardization, trauma, the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, technology, utopia.
