The film is based on the first part of Goethe’s tragedy Faust and focuses primarily on the love story between Faust and Margarete. It is set in an ambiguous time period that evokes both the early 19th century and a timeless, almost mediaeval world. Faust, a scholar disillusioned with the answers provided by the Church, seeks to understand the nature of the soul, but his quest leads him into a pact with the devilish moneylender, Mephistopheles. In exchange for worldly pleasures, including his desire for Margarete, Faust spirals into moral corruption, ultimately killing Margarete’s brother and causing her family’s ruin. 

The final act of Alexander Sokurov’s cinematic tetralogy on power presents an allegorical world inspired by the paintings of Carl Spitzweg. Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel gave the film a muted, dark tone, crafting an atmosphere that feels almost repulsive, devoid of romanticism, and saturated with filth and decay. Diverging from Goethe’s original, Sokurov explores the destruction of familial and human bonds, portraying the end of the humanist tradition. For its outstanding artistic qualities, the film was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.