Set in the 19th century, it is a free interpretation of the Faust legend and its respective literary adaptations by both Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1808) as well as Thomas Mann.

Driven by his burning desire for cognition, he even unearths corpses and rummages in their guts just to localize the home of the soul.

The previous installments are three biographical dramas: about Adolf Hitler in Moloch from 1999, Vladimir Lenin in Taurus from 2001, and the Japanese emperor Hirohito in The Sun from 2005.

Producer Andrey Sigle said about Faust: "The film has no particular relevance to contemporary events in the world – it is set in the early 19th century – but reflects Sokurov's enduring attempts to understand man and his inner forces.

"[4] The project, described in 2005 as "loosely based on works by Goethe and Thomas Mann", was announced by Sokurov in 2005 as "a very colourful, elegant picture with a lot of Strauss music and a smell of chocolate.

The website's critical consensus states, "It strays from the source, but whatever it might lack in fidelity, Aleksandr Sokurov's lengthy, ambitious Faust more than makes up in fresh energy and ideas".

[10] Jay Weissberg wrote in Variety: "Forget Marlowe, Goethe, Gounod and Murnau, or rather, lay them aside, since the idiosyncratic helmer adds his own spin on the classic legend, and an over-familiarity with Faust's previous incarnations will likely hinder understanding."

In a reservation, Weissberg wrote that Sokurov's "established fans" will be "the only audience for this largely impenetrable though undeniably impressive indulgence".

"[11] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote: "...and bliss out the next on the delirium that is "Faust," the latest from Alexander Sokurov ("Russian Ark").

An eccentric interpretation of the Goethe play, "Faust" is mesmerizing, at times predictably if divertingly bewildering and beautiful, with images that burn into your memory, like that of an embracing couple falling into a lake in a vision of desire and the abyss that invokes "L'Atalante" but is definitely Sokurovian.