Faust (1964)

The young magician Faust seeks to perform a feat of real magic, something more than mere illusion. In his search he has become solitary, brooding, and eccentric. Mephistopheles, in the guise of Bolus a psychologist, asks permission from Faust's father, director of a religious mission for vagrants, to assume the role of Faust's mentor. He thereupon taunts Faust into an angry wager: Faust bets that he can perform an act of real magic for Bolus, one that Bolus cannot figure out, and agrees that the stakes are to be determined by the winner, after winning. Thus the two set out upon the evening, Faust searching for the right conditions to make good his boast, and Bolus subtly trying to distract him from success. It is Halloween, and as the evening progresses they find themselves involved in a series of fantastical adventures. Margaret, whose interest in magic leads her to Faust, offers to be his assistant, but a tragic situation into which Faust is maneuvered by Bolus unbalances her, and their relationship is doomed. Eventually Faust meets Helen, consort of obscure poets, and at a lavish masquerade party she assists Faust in performing an apparently impossible act. Nevertheless, Bolus claims he has won the wager, since the audience cannot discern whether Faust's act is a feat of real magic or just a masterly illusion. Thus the outcome of the wager remains in doubt as Faust dies, a production of roses in his arms, in front of his father's mission. (Informationsblad från XIV Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin 1964)

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