Art film
Content
Art film
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An art film (also known as “art movie”, “art house film”, or in the collective sense as art cinema) is typically a serious, noncommercial, non-pornographic, independently made film aimed at a niche audience rather than a mass audience.[ ! "ilm critics and film studies scholars typically define an “art film” using a “...canon of films and those formal #ualities that mark them as different from mainstream $ollywood films”, [%! which includes, among other elements& a social realism style' an emphasis on the authorial e(pressivity of the director' and a focus on the thoughts and dreams of characters, rather than presenting a clear, goal-driven story. "ilm scholar )avid *ordwell claims that +art cinema itself is a [film! genre, with its own distinct conventions.+[,! Art film producers usually present their films at specialty theatres (repertory cinemas, or in the -. +arthouse cinemas+) and film festivals. /he term +art film+ is much more widely used in the -nited .tates than in 0urope, where the term +art film+ is more associated with +auteur+ films and +national cinema+ (e.g., 1erman national cinema). Art films are aimed at small niche market audiences, which means they can rarely get the financial 2acking which will permit large production 2udgets, e(pensive special effects, costly cele2rity actors, or huge advertising campaigns, as are used in widely-released mainstream 2lock2uster films. Art film directors make up for these constraints 2y creating a different type of film, which typically uses lesser-known film actors (or even amateur actors) and modest sets to make films which focus much more on developing ideas or e(ploring new narrative techni#ues or filmmaking conventions. "urthermore, a certain degree of e(perience and intellect are re#uired to understand or appreciate such films' one late 334s art film was called +largely a cere2ral e(perience+ which you en5oy +2ecause of what you know a2out film+ [6!. /his contrasts sharply with mainstream +2lock2uster+ movies, which are geared more towards escapism and pure entertainment. "or promotion, art films rely on the pu2licity generated from film critics7 reviews, discussion of their film 2y arts columnists, commentators, and 2loggers, and +word-ofmouth+ promotion 2y audience mem2ers. .ince art films have small initial investment costs, they only need to appeal to a small portion of the mainstream viewing audiences to 2ecome financially via2le.
History
Antecedents: 1910-1920s
/he antecedents of art films included ). 8. 1riffith7s film Intolerance ( 3 9) and the works of .ergei 0isenstein.[:! Art films were also influenced 2y films 2y .panish avant-garde creators such as ;uis *u<uel and .alvador )al= (e.g., L'Age d'Or from 3,4) and >ean ?octeau (e.g., The Blood of a Poet, also from 3,4). @n the 3%4s, film societies 2egan advocating the notion that films could 2e divided into an +...entertainment cinema directed towards a mass audience and a serious art cinema aimed at an intellectual audience+. @n 0ngland, Alfred $itchcock and @vor Aontagu formed a "ilm .ociety and imported films that they thought were +artistic achievements,+ such as +.oviet films of dialectical montage, and the e(pressionist films of the -niversum "ilm A. 1. (-"A) studios in 1ermany.+ [9! ?inBma Cur, a 3%4s and 3,4s "rench avant-garde film movement also influenced the development of the idea of +art film.+ /he cinema pur film movement included )ada artists, such as Aan Day (Emak-Bakia, Return to Reason), Dene ?lair (Entr'acte), and Aarcel )uchamp (Anemic Cinema). /he )adaists used film to transcend narrative (storytelling) conventions, 2ourgeois traditions, and conventional Aristotelian notions of time and space 2y creating a fle(i2le montage of time and space. Cure ?inema was influenced 2y such 1erman +a2solute+ filmmakers as $ans Dichter, 8alter Duttmann, and Eiking 0ggeling.
1930s-1950s
@n the 3,4s and 364s, $ollywood films could 2e divided into the artistic aspirations of literary adaptations like >ohn "ord7s The Informer ( 3,:) and 0ugene F7Geill7s The Long Vo age !ome ( 364), and the moneymaking +popular genre films+ such as gangster thrillers. 8illiam .iska argues that @talian neorealist films from the mid- to late- 364s, such as O"en Cit ( 36:), Paisa ( 369), and The Bic cle Thief can 2e deemed as another +conscious art film movement+.[9! @n the late 364s, the -. pu2lic7s perception that @talian neorealist films and other serious 0uropean fare were different from mainstream $ollywood films was reinforced 2y the development of +arthouse cinemas+ in ma5or -. cities and college towns. After the .econd 8orld 8ar, +...a growing segment of the American filmgoing pu2lic was wearying of mainstream $ollywood films,+ and they went to the newly-created art film theaters to see +...alternatives to the films playing in main-street movie palaces+. [H! "ilms shown in these art cinemas included +... *ritish, foreign-language, and independent American films, as well as documentaries and revivals of $ollywood classics.+ "ilms such as Dossellini7s O"en Cit and Aackendrick7s Tight Little Island (#hisk $alore%), The Bic cle Thief and The Red &hoes were shown to su2stantial -. audiences.[H! @n the late 3:4s, "rench filmmakers of the late 3:4s 2egan to produce films that were influenced 2y @talian Georealism[I! and classical $ollywood cinema,[I! a style that critics called the "rench Gew 8ave("rench& La 'ou(elle Vague). Although never a formally organiJed movement, the Gew 8ave filmmakers were linked 2y their self-conscious re5ection of classical cinematic form and their spirit of youthful iconoclasm and is an e(ample of 0uropean art cinema.[3! Aany also engaged in their work with the social and political upheavals of the era, making their radical e(periments with editing, visual style and narrative part of a general 2reak with the conservative paradigm. .ome of the most prominent pioneers among the group, including "ranKois /ruffaut, >ean-;uc 1odard, Lric Dohmer, ?laude ?ha2rol, and >ac#ues Divette, 2egan as critics for the famous film magaJine Cahiers du cin)ma. Auteur theory holds that the director is the +author+ of his movies, with a personal signature visi2le from film to film.
1960s-19 0s
/he "rench Gew 8ave movement continued into the 394s. )uring the 394s, the term +art film+ 2egan to 2e much more widely used in the -nited .tates than in 0urope. @n the -., the term is often defined very 2roadly, to include foreign-language (non-0nglish) +auteur+ films, independent films, e(perimental films, documentaries and short films. @n the 394s +art film+ 2ecame a euphemism in the -. for racy @talian and "rench *-movies. *y the 3H4s, the term was used to descri2e se(ually e(plicit 0uropean films with artistic structure such as I Am Curious *+ello,-. @n the -., the term +art film+ is sometimes used very loosely to refer to the 2road range of films shown in repertory theaters or +arthouse cinemas.+ 8ith this approach, a 2road range of films, such as a 394s $itchcock movie, a 3H4s e(perimental underground film, a 0uropean auteur film, a -. +@ndependent+ film , and even a mainstream foreign-language film (with su2titles) might all fall under the ru2ric of +art house films.+
19!0s-2000s
*y the 3I4s and 334s, the term 2ecame conflated with +independent film+ in the -., which shares many of the same stylistic traits with +art film.+ ?ompanies such as Airama( "ilms distri2uted independent films which were deemed commercially unvia2le at the ma5or studios. 8hen ma5or motion picture studios noted the niche appeal of independent films, they created special divisions dedicated to non-mainstream fare, such as the "o( .earchlight division of /wentieth ?entury "o(, the "ocus "eatures division of -niversal, and the .ony Cictures ?lassics division of .ony Cictures 0ntertainment. "ilm critics have de2ated whether the films from these special divisions can truly 2e considered to 2e +independent films+, given that they have financial 2acking from ma5or studios. @n %44H, Crofessor ?amille Caglia argued in her article +Art movies& [email protected].+ that +[l!ong 2efore *ergman and Antonioni died, the mystical art-house film e(perience faded to 2lack+. Caglia claims that +[a!side from "rancis "ord ?oppola7s $odfather series, with its deft flash2acks and gritty social realism, ...[there is not!...a
single film produced over the past ,: years that is argua2ly of e#ual philosophical weight or virtuosity of e(ecution to *ergman7s The &e(enth &eal or Persona +. Caglia states that young people from the %444s have 2ecome accustomed to +hyperactive+ special effect-filled films, which means that +very few+ of them +...have patience for the long, slow take that deep-think 0uropean directors once specialiJed in+, an approach which gave +...lu(urious scrutiny of the tiniest facial e(pressions or the chilly sweep of a sterile room or 2leak landscape+. Caglia e(plains that +Art film as a genre has waned with the high modernism that produced it+ in the 2roader cultural sphere, among whom she includes +>ames >oyce, Aarcel Croust and Eirginia 8oolf to @gor .travinsky, Ca2lo Cicasso and Aartha 1raham+. .he argues that instead of producing art films, %444s era filmakers are producing films that depict a +grim+ and +...narrow mental world+ that will 2e +fatal to future art+.[ 4!
Deviations from mainstream film norms
"ilm scholar )avid *ordwell outlined the academic definition of +art film+ in a 3H3 article entitled The Art Cinema as a .ode of /ilm Practice, which contrasts art films against the mainstream films of classical $ollywood cinema. Aainstream $ollywood-style films use a clear narrative form to organiJe the film into a series of +...causally related events taking place in space and time,+ with every scene driving towards a goal. /he plot for mainstream movies is driven 2y a well-defined protagonist, fleshed out with clear characters, and strengthened with +...#uestion-and-answer logic, pro2lem-solving routines, (and) deadline plot structures.+ /he film is then tied together with fast pacing, musical soundtracks to cue the appropriate audience emotions, and tight, seamless editing.[ ! Aainstream films tend to use a small palette of familiar, generic images, plots, ver2al e(pressions, and archetypal +stock+ characters. @n contrast, *ordwell states that +...the art cinema motivates its narrative 2y two principles& realism and authorial e(pressivity.+ Art films deviate from the mainstream, +classical+ norms of filmmaking in that they typically deal with more episodic narrative structures with a +...loosening of the chain of cause and effect+. [ As well, art films often deal with an inner drama that takes place in a character7s psyche, such as psychological issues dealing with individual identity, transgressive se(ual or social issues, moral dilemmas, or personal crises. Aainstream films also deal with moral dilemmas or identity crises, 2ut these issues are usually resolved 2y the end of the film. @n art films, the dilemmas are pro2ed and investigated in a pensive fashion, 2ut usually without a clear resolution at the end of the movie. [ %! /he protagonists in art films are often facing dou2t, anomie or alienation, and the art film often depicts their internal dialogue of thoughts, dream se#uences, and fantasies. @n some art films, the director uses a depiction of a2surd or seemingly meaningless actions to e(press a philosophical viewpoint such as e(istentialism. /he story in an art film often has a secondary role to character development and an e(ploration of ideas through lengthy se#uences of dialogue. @f an art film has a story, it is usually a drifting se#uence of vaguely defined or am2iguous episodes. /here may 2e une(plained gaps in the film, deli2erately unclear se#uences, or e(traneous se#uences that are not related to previous scenes, which force the viewer to su25ectively make their own interpretation of the film7s message. Art films often +...2ear the marks of a distinctive visual style+ and authorial approach of the director.[ ,! An art cinema film often refuses to provide a +...readily answered conclusion,+ instead putting to the cinema viewer the task of thinking a2out +...how is the story 2eing toldM 8hy tell the story in this wayM+[ 6! *ordwell claims that +art cinema itself is a [film! genre, with its own distinct conventions.+ [,! "ilm theorist Do2ert .tam also argues that “art film” is a film genre. $e claims that a film is considered to 2e an art film 2ased on artistic status, in the same way that film genres can 2e 2ased on aspects of films such as their 2udgets (2lock2uster movies or *-movies) or their star performers ("red Astaire movies). [ :!
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Timeline of notable films
/he following list is a small, partial sample of films with +art film+ #ualities, compiled to give a general sense of what directors and films are considered to have +art film+ characteristics. /he films in this list demonstrate one or more of the characteristics of art films& a serious, noncommercial, or independently made film that is not aimed at a mass audience. .ome of the films on this list are also considered to 2e +auteur+ films, independent films, or e(perimental films. @n some cases, critics disagree over whether a film is mainstream or not. "or e(ample, while some critics called 1us Ean .ant7s . O,n Pri(ate Idaho ( 33 ) an +e(ercise in film e(perimentation+ of +high artistic #uality+, [ 9! the #ashington Post called it an am2itious mainstream film.[ H! .ome films in this list have most of these characteristics' other films are commercially-made films produced 2y mainstream studios that nevertheless 2ear the hallmarks of a director7s +auteur+ style, or which have an e(perimental character. /he films in this list are nota2le either 2ecause they won ma5or awards or critical praise from influential film critics or 2ecause they introduced an innovative narrative or filmmaking techni#ue.
1920s-19"0s
@n the 3%4s and 3,4s, filmmakers did not set out to make +art films+, and film critics did not use the term +art film+. $owever, there were films that had more sophisticated aesthetic o25ectives, such as ?arl /heodor )reyer7s silent film The Passion of 0oan of Arc ( 3%I), surrealist film such as ;uis *u<uel7s 1n chien andalou ( 3%3) and L'2ge d'Or ( 3,4), or even films dealing with political and current-event relevance such as .ergei 0isenstein7s famed and influential masterpiece Battleshi" Potemkin. /he -. film &unrise3 A &ong of T,o !umans ( 3%H) 2y 1erman 0(pressionist director ". 8. Aurnau uses distorted art design and ground2reaking cinematography to create an e(aggerated, fairy-tale-like world that was rich with sym2olism and imagery. >ean Denoir7s film The Rules of the $ame ( 3,3) was a comedy of manners that transcended the conventions of the +comedy of manners+ genre 2y creating a 2iting and tragic satire of "rench upper class society in the years 2efore 88 @@' a poll of critics from the *ritish "ilm @nstitute ranked it as the third greatest film ever, placing 2ehind Citi4en 5ane and Vertigo.[ I! .ome of these early artistically-oriented films were financed 2y wealthy individuals rather than film companies, particularly in cases where the content of the film was controversial or unlikely to attract an audience. @n the late 364s, -N director Aichael Cowell and 0meric Cress2urger made The Red &hoes ( 36I), a film a2out 2allet that stood out from mainstream genre films of the era. @n 36:, )avid ;ean would direct Brief Encounter, an adaptation of GoOl ?oward7s play &till Life, which o2serves a passionate love affair 2etween an upper class man and a middle class woman amidst the social and economical issues that *ritain faced at the time.
1950s
@n the 3:4s, some of the well-known films with artistic sensi2ilities include La &trada ( 3:6), a film a2out a young woman who is forced to go to work for a cruel and inhumane circus performer in order to support her family and eventually coming to terms with her situation, ?arl /heodor )reyer7s Ordet ( 3:9), centering around family with a lack of faith amongst it 2ut with a son who 2elieves that he is >esus ?hrist and convinced that he is capa2le of performing miracles, "ederico "ellini7s 'ights of Ca6iria ( 3:H), which deals with a prostitutePs failed attempts to find love, and her suffering and re5ections, and #ild &tra,6erries ( 3:H), 2y @ngmar *ergman, whose narrative concerns an elderly medical doctor and professor whose nightmares lead him to re-evaluate his life, and The 788 Blo,s ( 3:3) 2y "ranKois /ruffaut, whose main character is a young man trying to come of age despite the a2use from his parents, schoolteachers, and society in general. @n Coland, the Nhrushchev /haw permitted some rela(ation of the regime7s cultural policies, and productions such as A $eneration, 5anal, Ashes and 9iamonds, Lotna ( 3:6Q 3:3), all directed 2y AndrJe5 8a5da, showed the Colish "ilm .chool style. @n @ndia, there was an art film movement in *engali cinema known as +Carallel ?inema+ or the +@ndian Gew 8ave+. @t was an alternative to the mainstream commercial cinema known for its serious content, realism
and naturalism, with a keen eye on the social-political climate of the times. /his movement is distinct from mainstream *ollywood cinema and 2egan around the same time as the "rench Gew 8ave and >apanese Gew 8ave. /he most influential filmmaker involved in this movement was .atya5it Day. $is most famous films were the The A"u Trilog ( 3::Q 3:3), which tells the story of a poor country 2oy7s growth to adulthood. *imal Doy7s T,o Acres of Land ( 3:,) tells the story of a farmer during a famine in *engal. Fther acclaimed *engali filmmakers involved in this movement include Arinal .en and Ditwik 1hatak. >apanese filmmakers produced a num2er of films that 2roke with convention. Akira Nurosawa7s Rashomon ( 3:4), the first >apanese film to 2e widely screened in the west, depicts four witnesses7 contradictory accounts of a rape and murder. @n 3:%, Nurosawa directed Ikiru, a film a2out a /okyo 2ureaucrat struggling to find a meaning for life. Fther >apanese films from this era include Tok o &tor ( 3:,) 2y Rasu5iro FJu, &e(en &amurai ( 3:6) 2y Nurosawa, /ires on the Plain ( 3:3) 2y Non @chikawa, and 1getsu ( 3:,) and &ansho the Bailiff ( 3:6) 2y Nen5i AiJoguchi.
1960s
/he 394s was a important period in art film, giving rise to the 0uropean art cinema. /he early 394s saw the release of a num2er of ground2reaking films. >ean-;uc 1odard7s Breathless ( 394) used innovative visual and editing techni#ues such as 5ump cuts and hand-held camera work. 0ules et 0im 2y "ranKois /ruffaut would deconstruct a comple( relationship of three individuals over the course of their eventful lives through innovative screenwriting, editing, and camera techni#ues. @n @taly, Aichelangelo Antonioni helped revolutioniJe the art films, with such films as La 'otte ( 39 ), a comple( e(amination of a failed marriage that dealt with issues such as anomie and sterility' L'Eclisse ( 39%), a2out a young woman who is una2le to form a solid relationship with her 2oyfriend 2ecause of his materialistic nature' The Red 9esert ( 396), his first color film, which deals with the need to adapt to the modern world' and Blo,u" ( 399), Antonioni7s first 0nglish language film, which e(amines issues of perception and reality as it follows a young photographerPs attempt to discover whether he had photographed a murder. .wedish director @ngmar *ergman started off the 394s with cham2er pieces like #inter Light ( 39,) and The &ilence ( 39,) dealing with such themes as emotional isolation and a lack of communication. $is films from the later half of the decade, such as Persona ( 399), &hame ( 39I), and A Passion ( 393), deal with the idea of film as an artifice. @ntellectual and visually e(pressive films of /adeusJ Nonwicki, such as All &ouls' 9a (:adus4ki, 39 ), and especially &alto ( 39%) inspired discussions a2out war and raised e(istential #uestions on 2ehalf of their everyman protagonists. "ederico "ellini7s La 9olce Vita ( 394) depicts a succession of nights and dawns in Dome as witnessed 2y a cynical 5ournalist. @n 39,, he made ;<, an e(ploration of creative, marital and spiritual difficulties shot in sumptuous 2lack-and-white 2y cinematographer 1ianni de EenanJo. /he 39 film Last +ear at .arien6ad 2y director Alain Desnais e(amines perception and reality, using grand tracking shots that 2ecame widely influential. Do2ert *resson7s Au !asard Baltha4ar ( 399) is nota2le for its naturalistic, elliptical style. ;uis *u<uel7s Belle de 0our ( 39H) shocked audiences with its masochistic fantasies a2out floggings and 2ondage. Dussian director Andrei /arkovsky7s film Andrei Ru6le( ( 399) is a portrait of the medieval Dussian icon painter of the same name. /he film is also a2out artistic freedom and the possi2ility and necessity of making art for, and in the face of, a repressive authority. A cut version of the film was shown at the 393 ?annes "ilm "estival, where it won the "@CD0.?@ priJe.[ 3! /he 2ook /he /op 44 "ilms states that the film is a masterpiece and one of /arkovsky7s 2est works. [%4! At the end of the decade, .tanley Nu2rick7s =88>3 A &"ace Od sse ( 39I) wowed audiences with its scientific realism, pioneering use of special effects, and unusual visual imagery. @n .oviet Armenia, .ergei Cara5anov7s The Color of Pomegranates, which was 2anned 2y .oviet authorities, and also long unavaila2le in the west, was praised 2y critic Aikhail Eartanov as +revolutionary+ [% ! and in the early 3I4s, Les Cahiers du Cin)ma placed the film in its top 4 list.[%%! @n @ran, )ariush Aehr5ui7s The Co, ( 393), a2out a man who 2ecomes insane after the death of his 2eloved cow, sparked the new wave of @ranian cinema.
19 0s
@n the early 3H4s, directors shocked audiences with violent films such as A Clock,ork Orange ( 3H ), .tanley Nu2rick7s 2rutal e(ploration of futuristic youth gangs and Last Tango in Paris ( 3H%), *ernardo *ertolucci7s ta2oo-2reaking, se(ually-e(plicit and controversial film. Gevertheless, other directors did more introspective films, such as Andrei /arkovsky7s meditative science fiction film &olaris ( 3H%), supposedly intended as a .oviet riposte to =88>. @n 3H:, /arkovsky directed another film which garnered critical acclaim overseas, The .irror. /errence Aalick, who directed Badlands ( 3H,) and 9a s of !ea(en ( 3HI) shared many traits with /arkovsky, such as his long, lingering shots of natural 2eauty, evocative imagery, and poetic narrative style. Another feature of 3H4s art films was the return to prominence of 2iJarre characters and imagery, which a2ound in the tormented, o2sessed title character in 1erman Gew 8ave director 8erner $erJog7s Aguirre? the #rath of $od ( 3H,), and in cult films such as Ale5andro >odorowsky7s psychedelic The !ol .ountain ( 3H,) a2out a footless, handless dwarf and an alchemist seeking the mythical ;otus @sland[%,! /he film Ta@i 9ri(er ( 3H9) 2y Aartin .corsese continues the themes that Clock,ork Orange e(plored& an alienated population living in a violent, decaying society. /he gritty violence and seething rage of .corsese7s film contrasts other films released in the same period, such as )avid ;ynch7s dreamlike, surreal Eraserhead ( 3HH). @n 3H6 >ohn ?assavetes would offer a sharp commentary on American 2lue-collar life in A #oman 1nder the Influence, which features an eccentric housewife slowly descending into madness.
19!0s
@n 3I4, director Aartin .corsese shocked audiences who had 2ecome used to the escapist 2lock2uster adventures of .teven .piel2erg and 1eorge ;ucas with the gritty, harsh realism of his film Raging Bull. @n this film, actor Do2ert )e Giro took method acting to an e(treme to portray a 2o(er7s decline from a priJewinning young fighter to an overweight, +has-2een+ nightclu2 owner. Didley .cott7s Blade Runner ( 3I%), while la2eled as a fast-paced action film, could rather 2e seen as a science fiction art film, along with =88>3 A &"ace Od sse ( 39I). Blade Runner e(plores themes of e(istentialism& what it means to 2e human. A 2o( office failure, the film 2ecame popular in the arthouse circuit as a cult oddity after the release of a +)irector7s cut+ 2ecame successful on E$.. @n the middle of the decade, >apanese director Akira Nurosawa used realism to portray the 2rutal, 2loody violence of >apanese samurai warfare of the :44s in Ran ( 3I:). Ran followed the plot of 5ing Lear, in which an elderly king is 2etrayed 2y his children. .ergio ;eone also contrasted 2rutal violence with emotional su2stance in his epic tale of a mo2ster7s life in Once 1"on a Time in America. Fther directors in the 3I4s chose a more intellectual path, e(ploring philosophical and ethical issues. AndrJe5 8a5da7s .an of Iron ( 3I ) is a criti#ue of the Colish communist government which won the 3I Calme d7Fr at the ?annes "ilm "estival. Another Colish director, NrJysJtof NieSlowski made The 9ecalogue for television in 3II, a largely melancholic film series that e(plores ethical issues and moral puJJles. /wo of these films were released theatrically as A &hort /ilm A6out Lo(e and A &hort /ilm A6out 5illing. @n 3I3 8oody Allen would make, in the words of /he Gew Rork /imes critic Eincent ?an2y his most +securely serious and funny film to date+ in Crimes and .isdemeanors, which deals with multiple stories of people trying to find a moral and spiritual simplicity in life facing dire issues and thoughts surrounding the choices they make. "rench director ;ouis Aalle chose another moral path to e(plore with the dramatiJation of his real-life childhood e(periences in Au re(oir? les enfants, which depicts the GaJi occupation government7s deportation of "rench >ews to concentration camps during 88@@. NieSlowski was not the only director to transcend the distinction 2etween the cinema and television& @ngmar *ergman made /ann and Ale@ander ( 3I%) which was shown on television in an e(tended five-hour version. @n the -N, ?hannel 6, a new television channel, financed in whole or part many films released theatrically via its "ilm 6 su2sidiary. 8im 8enders offered another approach on life from a spiritual standpoint in his 3IH film #ings of 9esire, a depiction of a +fallen angel+ who lives among men which won the Calme d7Fr at the ?annes "ilm "estival. @n 3I%, e(perimental director 1odfrey Deggio released 5o aanisAatsi, a film without dialogue which emphasiJes cinematography and philosophical ideology. @t consists primarily of slow motion and time-lapse photography of cities and natural landscapes which creates a visual tone poem.[%6!
Another approach used 2y directors in the 3I4s was to create 2iJarre, surreal alternate worlds. Aartin .corsese7s After !ours ( 3I:) is a comedy-thriller that depicts a man7s 2affling adventures in a surreal nighttime world of chance encounters with mysterious characters. )avid ;ynch7s Blue Vel(et ( 3I9), is a film noir-style thriller mystery filled with sym2olism and metaphors a2out polariJed worlds and inha2ited 2y distorted characters that are hidden in the seamy underworld of a small town 2ecame surprisingly successful considering its highy distu2ing su25ect matter. Ceter 1reenaway7s The Cook? the Thief? !is #ife B !er Lo(er ( 3I3) is an outlandish fantasyT2lack comedy a2out canni2alism and e(treme violence with an intellectual theme& a criti#ue of 7elite culture7 in /hatcherian *ritain.
1990s
@n the 334s, directors took inspiration from the success of 3I97s Blue Vel(et and The Cook? the Thief? !is #ife B !er Lo(er 2y creating films with 2iJarre alternate worlds and elements of surrealism. @n 334, >apanese director Akira Nurosawa7s 9reams depicted his imaginative reveries in a series of vignettes that range from idyllic pastoral country landscapes to horrific visions of tormented demons and a 2lighted postnuclear war landscape. @n 33 , director >oel ?oen7s Barton /ink, which won the Calme d7or at the ?annes "ilm "estival, told an enigmatic story a2out a writer who encounters a range of 2iJarre characters including an alcoholic, a2usive novelist and a serial killer. )avid ;ynch7s 33H film Lost !igh,a is a psychological thriller that e(plores fantasy worlds, 2iJarre time-space transformations, and mental 2reakdowns using surreal imagery. Fther directors in the 334s e(plored philosophical issues and themes such as identity, chance, death, and e(istentialism. /he 334s films . O,n Pri(ate Idaho and Chungking E@"ress e(plored the theme of identity. 1us Ean .ant7s . O,n Pri(ate Idaho ( 33 ) is an independent road movieT2uddy movie a2out two young street hustlers which e(plores the theme of the search for home and identity. @t was called a +highwater mark in 734s independent film+,[%:! a +stark, poetic rumination+,[%9! and an +e(ercise in film e(perimentation+[%H! of +high artistic #uality+.[ 9! 8ong Nar-wai7s Chungking E@"ress ( 336)[%I! e(plores the themes of identity, disconnection, loneliness, and isolation in the +metaphoric concrete 5ungle+ of modern $ong Nong. /he film uses a visual style that could 2e seen as music video-influenced, and also 2ears similarities to the "rench Gew 8ave. 8hile the *ritish "ilm @nstitute called it one of the 2est Asian films of contemporary cinema, it is considered to 2e a film for cineophiles, 2ecause it is +largely a cere2ral e(perience+ which you en5oy +2ecause of what you know a2out film. A22as Niarostami7s film Taste of Cherr ( 33H),[%3! which won the Calme d7Fr at the ?annes "ilm "estival, tells the story of a man trying to hire a person to 2ury him after he commits suicide. /he film was shot in a minimalist style, with long takes, a leisurely pace, and long periods of silence. /he film was also nota2le for its use of long shots and overhead shots which creates a sense of distance 2etween the audience and the characters. Uhang Rimou7s early 334s works such as 0u 9ou ( 334), Raise the Red Lantern ( 33 ), The &tor of Ciu 0u ( 33%) and To Li(e ( 336) e(plore human emotions through a poignant narrative. To Li(e won the 1rand >ury CriJe. .everal 334s films e(plored e(istentialist-oriented themes related to life, chance, and death. Do2ert Altman7s &hort Cuts ( 33,) e(plored themes of chance, death, and infidelity 2y tracing ten parallel and interwoven stories. /he film, which won the 1olden ;ion and the Eolpi ?up at the Eenice "ilm "estival, was called a +many-sided, many mooded, daJJlingly structured eclectic 5aJJ mural+ 2y ?hicago /ri2une critic Aichael 8ilmington. NrJysJtof Nieslowski7s The 9ou6le Life of V)roniAue ( 33 ) is a drama a2out the theme of identity and a political allegory a2out the 0astT8est split in 0urope which features styliJed cinematography, an ethereal atmosphere, and une(plained supernatural elements. A22as Niarostami7s film Taste of Cherr ( 33H)[%3! a2out a man trying to hire a person to 2ury him after he commits suicide. /he film, which was shot in a minimalist style, with long takes, won the Calme d7Fr at the ?annes "ilm "estival. )arren Aronofsky7s film Pi ( 33I) is a dream-like +...incredi2ly comple( and am2iguous film filled with 2oth incredi2le style and su2stance+ a2out a paranoid math genius7 +search for peace.+ [,4! /he film creates a )avid ;ynch-inspired,+... eerie Eraserhead-like world+[, ! shot in +2lack-and-white, which lends a dream-like atmosphere to all of the proceedings+, which e(plore issues such as +metaphysics and spirituality+ [,%!
Aatthew *arney7s The Cremaster C cle ( 336Q%44%) is a cycle of five sym2olic, allegorical films that create a self-enclosed aesthetic system that aims to e(plore the process of creation. /he films are filled with allusions to reproductive organs and se(ual development, and they use narrative models drawn from 2iography, mythology, and geology. .ome 334s films mi(ed an ethereal or surreal visual atmosphere with the e(ploration of philosophical issues. &atantango ( 336), 2y the $ungarian director *ela /arr is a HV hour long film, shot in 2lack and white, that deals with /arrPs favorite theme, that of inade#uacy, as con man @rimias comes 2ack to a village at an unspecified location in $ungary, setting himself up as leader and as a Aessiah figure to the gulli2le villagers. Nieslowski7s Three Colors trilogy ( 33,-6), particularly Blue ( 33,) and Red ( 336) deal with human relationships, and how people cope with them alongside their day-to-day lives. /he trilogy was called an e(ploration of +...una2ashedly spiritual and e(istential issues+ [,,! that created a +truly transcendent e(perience+.[,6!
2000s
A num2er of films from the %444s with art film #ualities were nota2le due to their use of innovative filmmaking or editing techni#ues. .emento (%44 ), a psychological thriller directed 2y ?hristopher Golan is a2out a man suffering from short-term memory loss. /he film is edited so that the plot is revealed 2ackwards in ten-minute chunks, simulating the condition of memory loss. Eternal &unshine of the &"otless .ind (%446) is a romance film directed 2y Aichel 1ondry a2out a man who hires a company to erase the memory of a 2ad relationship. /he film used a range of special effect techni#ues and camera work to depict the destruction of the man7s memories and his transitions from one memory to another. Timecode (%444), a film directed 2y Aike "iggis, uses a split screen to show four continuous 34 minute takes that follow four storylines. Russian Ark (%44%), a film directed 2y Ale(ander .okurov took "iggis7 use of e(tended takes even further' it is nota2le for 2eing the first feature film shot in a single, unedited take. #aking Life (%44 ), an animated film directed 2y Dichard ;inklater uses an innovative digital rotoscope techni#ue to depict a young man stuck in a dream. [,:! .everal %444s-era films e(plored the theme of amnesia or memory, 2ut unlike .emento, they did so using narrative techni#ues rather than filmmaking and editing methods. .ulholland 9ri(e (%44 ), directed 2y )avid ;ynch is initially a2out a young woman who moves to $ollywood and discovers that an amnesiac is living in her house, although as the plot progresses it 2ecomes apparent the film is holding something deeper in terms of its plot and characters. Old6o (%44,), directed 2y Cark ?han-wook, is a2out a man imprisoned 2y a mysterious and 2rutal captor for : years who must then chase his old memories when he is a2ruptly released. Pe""ermint Cand (%444), directed 2y ;ee ?hang-dong, starts with the suicide of the male protagonist, and then uses reverse chronology (like .emento) to depict the events of the last %4 years which led the man to want to kill himself. .ome of the nota2le films from the %444s that have 2een considered to have art film-#ualities differed from mainstream films in controversial su25ect matter or in narrative form. Ele"hant (%44,), a film directed 2y 1us Ean .ant, for e(ample, depicting mass murder at a high school that echoed the ?olum2ine $igh .chool massacre, won top priJe at the ?annes "ilm "estival. Fther of his films include $err , Last 9a s, and Paranoid Park. /odd $aynes7 comple( deconstruction of *o2 )ylan7s persona, I'm 'ot There (%44H), tells its story using non-traditional narrative techni#ues, intercutting the story-lines of the si( different )ylaninspired characters. Fther nota2le films include !arsh Times, a story a2out an e(-soldier who is tormented 2y the horrors of war and !ard Cand , a psychological thriller focusing on a confrontation 2etween a se(ual predator and a 6-year-old girl he attempts to ensnare. Ae(ican director 1uillermo del /oro7s film Pan's La6 rinth uses ?omputer-generated imagery (?1@) technology to create a fantastical world that a ten yearold girl imagines to 2lock out the horror of the .panish ?ivil 8ar. Enc clo"edia Britannica calls del /oro7s film +...a wonderful marriage of $ollywood genre [film! and 0uropean art film+. [,9! ;ewis *eale of /ilm 0ournal International stated that Australian director Andrew )ominik7s western film The Assassination of 0esse 0ames 6 the Co,ard Ro6ert /ord (%44H) is +a fascinating, literary-2ased work
that succeeds as 2oth art and genre film.+[,H! -nlike the more action-oriented >esse >ames movies of the past, )ominik7s unconventional epic, perhaps more accurately, details the outlaw7s relin#uishing psyche during the final months of his life as he finds himself succum2ing to the paranoia of 2eing captured and developing a rather precarious friendship with his eventual assassin, Do2ert "ord. @n %443, director Caul /homas Anderson claimed that his film Punch 9runk Lo(e, a2out a shy, repressed rageaholic was +an art house Adam .andler film+, a reference to the unlikely inclusion of +frat 2oy+ comic .andler in the film' critic Doger 02ert claims that Punch 9runk Lo(e +...may 2e the key to all of the Adam .andler films, and may li2erate .andler for a new direction in his work. $e can7t go on making those moronic comedies forever, can heM 8ho would have guessed he had such uncharted depthsM+. [,I!
Related concepts
Art tele#ision
A genre or style of +art television+ (or +#uality television+) has 2een identified, which shares some of the same traits of art films. /elevision shows such as )avid ;ynch7s T,in Peaks series and **?7s The &inging 9etecti(e also have +...a loosening of causality, a greater emphasis on psychological or anecdotal realism, violations of classical clarity of space and time, e(plicit authorial comment, and am2iguity.+ Fther television shows that have 2een called +art television,+ such as The &im"sons, use a +...flurry of cultural references, intentionally inconsistent characteriJation, and considera2le self-refle(ivity a2out television conventions and the status of the programme as a television show.+[,3! $*F7s The #ire might also 2e #ualified as +art television+ as it has garnered a larger amount of critical attention from academics than most television shows. "or e(ample, the film theory 5ournal /ilm Cuarterl has featured the show on its cover.[64! ;ost (tv series) is a e(ample of +art television+, 2ecause of his vast mythology that contains philosophical and religious references, profound characters and the mystery 2eyond them that contri2ute to active fan7s speculations.
References
1. ^ "art film definition - Dictionary - MSN Encarta". Archived from the original on 2009-1031. htt !""###.#e$citation.org"%&#'f(y#e. 2. ^ htt !"")2.1*.20%.10*"+earch, -.cache!dt0$/&09g1+2!###.findarticle+.com" "article+"mi3m0*12"i+33333"ai3n1%9**445 6722art6cinema7226definition8hl.en8ct.cln&8cd.9 3. 9 a b 'eith: ;arry. Film Genres: From Iconography to Ideology. <allflo#er =re++! 200). > age 1? *. ^ ;riti+h 0ilm @n+titAte
%. ^ <@BB@AM 1. S@S'AC. The Art Film
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<@BB@AM 1. S@S'A. The Art Film
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>1ommerce and Ma++ 1AltAre Serie+?. Devie# availa$le at! htt !"")2.1*.20%.10*"+earch, -.cache!EfgF-fEl4BA2!###.A re++.Amn.edA";oo&+"<"#ilin+&y3cinema.html6hi+tory6 722art6film7228hl.en8ct.cln&8cd.*5 4. 9 a b Marie: Michel. The French New a!e : An Artistic School. Cran+. Dichard NeA ert. Ne# Eor&! 2ohn <iley 8 Son+: @ncor orated: 2002. 9. ^ htt !""###.$rynma#rfilm.org"0430rench31inema3NE<.html
10. ^ =aglia: 1amille. "Art movie+! D.@.=." @n Salon. Availa$le at!
htt !""###.+alon.com"o inion" aglia"200)"04"04"clar&+on"indeG.html
11. 9 a b htt !"")2.1*.20%.10*"+earch, -.cache!; EM/HdI%A@2!###.film.A$c.ca"A$cine hile"cine hile"+teen$ergframing#ar. df6722art6cinema7226definition8hl.en8ct.cln&8cd.*0 12. ^ Sight and SoAnd. Availa$le at! htt !"")2.1*.20%.10*"+earch, -.cache!35d*%'&09n@2!###.$ergmanorama.com"+ight+oAnd9*3el+ae++er.htm6 722art6cinema7226definition8hl.en8ct.cln&8cd.34 13. ^ htt !""###.$A-london.co.A&"0C315reading5-Social1inema. df 1*. ^ "emories of a #e!olutionary Cinema $y Alli+on Arnold Helmin+&i. Availa$le at! htt !"")2.1*.20%.10*"+earch, -.cache!+/-rtDAf'II2!###.+en+e+ofcinema.com"content+"00"2"memorie+.html6 722art6cinema7226definition8hl.en8ct.cln&8cd.3* 1%. ^ htt !"")2.1*.20%.10*"+earch, -.cache!Dl/@M+3#9;A2!###.a$er.ac.A&"media"DocAment+"intgenre"intgenre1.html6 722art6film7226definition8hl.en8ct.cln&8cd.*) 15. 9
a b
allmovie.com
1). ^ ###.#a+hington o+t.com"# +rv"+tyle"longterm"movie+"video+"myo#n rivateidahorho#e3a0$3%2.htm 14. ^ htt !""###.$fi.org.A&"+ightand+oAnd"to ten" oll"critic+.html 19. ^ "0e+tival de 1anne+! Andrei DA$lev". festi!al$cannes%com. htt !""###.fe+tivalcanne+.com"en"archive+"fiche0ilm"id"25%9"year"1959.html. Detrieved 2009-0*-10. 20. ^ Jeorgari+: ;illK Lic&i =latt. "Che Co 100 0ilm+". Chey Shoot =ictAre+: DonMt Chey,. htt !""###.they+hoot ictAre+.com"gf10003to 100film+25-%0.htm. Detrieved 200)-1205. 21. ^ htt !""###. ara/anov.com"main.html Che 1olor of =omegranate+ at =arad/anov.com 22. ^ htt !""###. ara/anov.com"to 100film+.html Che 1olor of =omegranate+ in 1ahier+ dA 1inema Co 10 23. ^ Chi+ #a+ 2odoro#+&yM+ +econd film from the 19)0+. He al+o made El Topo >19)0?: a +Arreali+tic #e+tern movie. 2*. ^ "'oyaani+-at+i". Spirit of &ara'a. 200)-0%-21. htt !""###.+ iritof$ara&a.com"&oyaani+.a+ G. Detrieved 2004-0%-24. 2%. ^ 0ilmcritic.com critic 2a&e EAler 25. ^ Devie#er Nic& Schager 2). ^ critic Matt ;rAn+on 24. ^ =rior to 1hAng&ing EG re++: he directed (ays of &eing #ai directedHappy Together )film* >199)?. 29. 9
a b
ild. Bater in the 1990+: 'ar-
@n 1990: 'iaro+tami directed Close$up.
30. ^ =i Movie Devie#: DLD Delea+e - 0ilmcritic.com 31. ^ 1Arrent Movie Devie#+: @nde endent Movie+ - 0ilm Chreat 32. ^ 1ritic 2ame+ ;erardinelli 33. ^ 1ritic EmanAal Bevy: at EmanAallevy.com 3*. ^ Matt ;rAn+on
3%. ^ 0ive year+ later: Bin&later relea+ed the +cience fiction film A Scanner (ar'ly >2005?: #hich #a+ al+o animated #ith Doto+co e. 35. ^ htt !""###.$ritannica.com"$ +"additionalcontent"14"23149512"=an+-Ba$yrinth 3). ^ Be#i+ ;eale. "CHE ASSASS@NAC@(N (0 2ESSE 2AMES ;E CHE 1(<ADD D(;EDC 0(DD". 0ilm 2oArnal @nternational. htt !""###.film/oArnal.com"film/oArnal"revie#+"article3di+ lay./+ , vnA3content3id.100353941). Detrieved 200)-09-2). 34. ^ htt !""rogere$ert.+Antime+.com"a +" $c+.dll"article, A@D."20021014"DEL@E<S"210140304"1023 39. ^ Chom +on. Availa$le at! htt !""###.&amera.co.A&"$oo&+"ne#3holly#ood3cinema.html
*0. ^ htt !""machine+. omona.edA"1%2-2009"2009"11"02"the-#ire-$eing-taAght-at-harvard"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An art film (also known as “art movie”, “art house film”, or in the collective sense as art cinema) is typically a serious, noncommercial, non-pornographic, independently made film aimed at a niche audience rather than a mass audience.[ ! "ilm critics and film studies scholars typically define an “art film” using a “...canon of films and those formal #ualities that mark them as different from mainstream $ollywood films”, [%! which includes, among other elements& a social realism style' an emphasis on the authorial e(pressivity of the director' and a focus on the thoughts and dreams of characters, rather than presenting a clear, goal-driven story. "ilm scholar )avid *ordwell claims that +art cinema itself is a [film! genre, with its own distinct conventions.+[,! Art film producers usually present their films at specialty theatres (repertory cinemas, or in the -. +arthouse cinemas+) and film festivals. /he term +art film+ is much more widely used in the -nited .tates than in 0urope, where the term +art film+ is more associated with +auteur+ films and +national cinema+ (e.g., 1erman national cinema). Art films are aimed at small niche market audiences, which means they can rarely get the financial 2acking which will permit large production 2udgets, e(pensive special effects, costly cele2rity actors, or huge advertising campaigns, as are used in widely-released mainstream 2lock2uster films. Art film directors make up for these constraints 2y creating a different type of film, which typically uses lesser-known film actors (or even amateur actors) and modest sets to make films which focus much more on developing ideas or e(ploring new narrative techni#ues or filmmaking conventions. "urthermore, a certain degree of e(perience and intellect are re#uired to understand or appreciate such films' one late 334s art film was called +largely a cere2ral e(perience+ which you en5oy +2ecause of what you know a2out film+ [6!. /his contrasts sharply with mainstream +2lock2uster+ movies, which are geared more towards escapism and pure entertainment. "or promotion, art films rely on the pu2licity generated from film critics7 reviews, discussion of their film 2y arts columnists, commentators, and 2loggers, and +word-ofmouth+ promotion 2y audience mem2ers. .ince art films have small initial investment costs, they only need to appeal to a small portion of the mainstream viewing audiences to 2ecome financially via2le.
History
Antecedents: 1910-1920s
/he antecedents of art films included ). 8. 1riffith7s film Intolerance ( 3 9) and the works of .ergei 0isenstein.[:! Art films were also influenced 2y films 2y .panish avant-garde creators such as ;uis *u<uel and .alvador )al= (e.g., L'Age d'Or from 3,4) and >ean ?octeau (e.g., The Blood of a Poet, also from 3,4). @n the 3%4s, film societies 2egan advocating the notion that films could 2e divided into an +...entertainment cinema directed towards a mass audience and a serious art cinema aimed at an intellectual audience+. @n 0ngland, Alfred $itchcock and @vor Aontagu formed a "ilm .ociety and imported films that they thought were +artistic achievements,+ such as +.oviet films of dialectical montage, and the e(pressionist films of the -niversum "ilm A. 1. (-"A) studios in 1ermany.+ [9! ?inBma Cur, a 3%4s and 3,4s "rench avant-garde film movement also influenced the development of the idea of +art film.+ /he cinema pur film movement included )ada artists, such as Aan Day (Emak-Bakia, Return to Reason), Dene ?lair (Entr'acte), and Aarcel )uchamp (Anemic Cinema). /he )adaists used film to transcend narrative (storytelling) conventions, 2ourgeois traditions, and conventional Aristotelian notions of time and space 2y creating a fle(i2le montage of time and space. Cure ?inema was influenced 2y such 1erman +a2solute+ filmmakers as $ans Dichter, 8alter Duttmann, and Eiking 0ggeling.
1930s-1950s
@n the 3,4s and 364s, $ollywood films could 2e divided into the artistic aspirations of literary adaptations like >ohn "ord7s The Informer ( 3,:) and 0ugene F7Geill7s The Long Vo age !ome ( 364), and the moneymaking +popular genre films+ such as gangster thrillers. 8illiam .iska argues that @talian neorealist films from the mid- to late- 364s, such as O"en Cit ( 36:), Paisa ( 369), and The Bic cle Thief can 2e deemed as another +conscious art film movement+.[9! @n the late 364s, the -. pu2lic7s perception that @talian neorealist films and other serious 0uropean fare were different from mainstream $ollywood films was reinforced 2y the development of +arthouse cinemas+ in ma5or -. cities and college towns. After the .econd 8orld 8ar, +...a growing segment of the American filmgoing pu2lic was wearying of mainstream $ollywood films,+ and they went to the newly-created art film theaters to see +...alternatives to the films playing in main-street movie palaces+. [H! "ilms shown in these art cinemas included +... *ritish, foreign-language, and independent American films, as well as documentaries and revivals of $ollywood classics.+ "ilms such as Dossellini7s O"en Cit and Aackendrick7s Tight Little Island (#hisk $alore%), The Bic cle Thief and The Red &hoes were shown to su2stantial -. audiences.[H! @n the late 3:4s, "rench filmmakers of the late 3:4s 2egan to produce films that were influenced 2y @talian Georealism[I! and classical $ollywood cinema,[I! a style that critics called the "rench Gew 8ave("rench& La 'ou(elle Vague). Although never a formally organiJed movement, the Gew 8ave filmmakers were linked 2y their self-conscious re5ection of classical cinematic form and their spirit of youthful iconoclasm and is an e(ample of 0uropean art cinema.[3! Aany also engaged in their work with the social and political upheavals of the era, making their radical e(periments with editing, visual style and narrative part of a general 2reak with the conservative paradigm. .ome of the most prominent pioneers among the group, including "ranKois /ruffaut, >ean-;uc 1odard, Lric Dohmer, ?laude ?ha2rol, and >ac#ues Divette, 2egan as critics for the famous film magaJine Cahiers du cin)ma. Auteur theory holds that the director is the +author+ of his movies, with a personal signature visi2le from film to film.
1960s-19 0s
/he "rench Gew 8ave movement continued into the 394s. )uring the 394s, the term +art film+ 2egan to 2e much more widely used in the -nited .tates than in 0urope. @n the -., the term is often defined very 2roadly, to include foreign-language (non-0nglish) +auteur+ films, independent films, e(perimental films, documentaries and short films. @n the 394s +art film+ 2ecame a euphemism in the -. for racy @talian and "rench *-movies. *y the 3H4s, the term was used to descri2e se(ually e(plicit 0uropean films with artistic structure such as I Am Curious *+ello,-. @n the -., the term +art film+ is sometimes used very loosely to refer to the 2road range of films shown in repertory theaters or +arthouse cinemas.+ 8ith this approach, a 2road range of films, such as a 394s $itchcock movie, a 3H4s e(perimental underground film, a 0uropean auteur film, a -. +@ndependent+ film , and even a mainstream foreign-language film (with su2titles) might all fall under the ru2ric of +art house films.+
19!0s-2000s
*y the 3I4s and 334s, the term 2ecame conflated with +independent film+ in the -., which shares many of the same stylistic traits with +art film.+ ?ompanies such as Airama( "ilms distri2uted independent films which were deemed commercially unvia2le at the ma5or studios. 8hen ma5or motion picture studios noted the niche appeal of independent films, they created special divisions dedicated to non-mainstream fare, such as the "o( .earchlight division of /wentieth ?entury "o(, the "ocus "eatures division of -niversal, and the .ony Cictures ?lassics division of .ony Cictures 0ntertainment. "ilm critics have de2ated whether the films from these special divisions can truly 2e considered to 2e +independent films+, given that they have financial 2acking from ma5or studios. @n %44H, Crofessor ?amille Caglia argued in her article +Art movies& [email protected].+ that +[l!ong 2efore *ergman and Antonioni died, the mystical art-house film e(perience faded to 2lack+. Caglia claims that +[a!side from "rancis "ord ?oppola7s $odfather series, with its deft flash2acks and gritty social realism, ...[there is not!...a
single film produced over the past ,: years that is argua2ly of e#ual philosophical weight or virtuosity of e(ecution to *ergman7s The &e(enth &eal or Persona +. Caglia states that young people from the %444s have 2ecome accustomed to +hyperactive+ special effect-filled films, which means that +very few+ of them +...have patience for the long, slow take that deep-think 0uropean directors once specialiJed in+, an approach which gave +...lu(urious scrutiny of the tiniest facial e(pressions or the chilly sweep of a sterile room or 2leak landscape+. Caglia e(plains that +Art film as a genre has waned with the high modernism that produced it+ in the 2roader cultural sphere, among whom she includes +>ames >oyce, Aarcel Croust and Eirginia 8oolf to @gor .travinsky, Ca2lo Cicasso and Aartha 1raham+. .he argues that instead of producing art films, %444s era filmakers are producing films that depict a +grim+ and +...narrow mental world+ that will 2e +fatal to future art+.[ 4!
Deviations from mainstream film norms
"ilm scholar )avid *ordwell outlined the academic definition of +art film+ in a 3H3 article entitled The Art Cinema as a .ode of /ilm Practice, which contrasts art films against the mainstream films of classical $ollywood cinema. Aainstream $ollywood-style films use a clear narrative form to organiJe the film into a series of +...causally related events taking place in space and time,+ with every scene driving towards a goal. /he plot for mainstream movies is driven 2y a well-defined protagonist, fleshed out with clear characters, and strengthened with +...#uestion-and-answer logic, pro2lem-solving routines, (and) deadline plot structures.+ /he film is then tied together with fast pacing, musical soundtracks to cue the appropriate audience emotions, and tight, seamless editing.[ ! Aainstream films tend to use a small palette of familiar, generic images, plots, ver2al e(pressions, and archetypal +stock+ characters. @n contrast, *ordwell states that +...the art cinema motivates its narrative 2y two principles& realism and authorial e(pressivity.+ Art films deviate from the mainstream, +classical+ norms of filmmaking in that they typically deal with more episodic narrative structures with a +...loosening of the chain of cause and effect+. [ As well, art films often deal with an inner drama that takes place in a character7s psyche, such as psychological issues dealing with individual identity, transgressive se(ual or social issues, moral dilemmas, or personal crises. Aainstream films also deal with moral dilemmas or identity crises, 2ut these issues are usually resolved 2y the end of the film. @n art films, the dilemmas are pro2ed and investigated in a pensive fashion, 2ut usually without a clear resolution at the end of the movie. [ %! /he protagonists in art films are often facing dou2t, anomie or alienation, and the art film often depicts their internal dialogue of thoughts, dream se#uences, and fantasies. @n some art films, the director uses a depiction of a2surd or seemingly meaningless actions to e(press a philosophical viewpoint such as e(istentialism. /he story in an art film often has a secondary role to character development and an e(ploration of ideas through lengthy se#uences of dialogue. @f an art film has a story, it is usually a drifting se#uence of vaguely defined or am2iguous episodes. /here may 2e une(plained gaps in the film, deli2erately unclear se#uences, or e(traneous se#uences that are not related to previous scenes, which force the viewer to su25ectively make their own interpretation of the film7s message. Art films often +...2ear the marks of a distinctive visual style+ and authorial approach of the director.[ ,! An art cinema film often refuses to provide a +...readily answered conclusion,+ instead putting to the cinema viewer the task of thinking a2out +...how is the story 2eing toldM 8hy tell the story in this wayM+[ 6! *ordwell claims that +art cinema itself is a [film! genre, with its own distinct conventions.+ [,! "ilm theorist Do2ert .tam also argues that “art film” is a film genre. $e claims that a film is considered to 2e an art film 2ased on artistic status, in the same way that film genres can 2e 2ased on aspects of films such as their 2udgets (2lock2uster movies or *-movies) or their star performers ("red Astaire movies). [ :!
!
Timeline of notable films
/he following list is a small, partial sample of films with +art film+ #ualities, compiled to give a general sense of what directors and films are considered to have +art film+ characteristics. /he films in this list demonstrate one or more of the characteristics of art films& a serious, noncommercial, or independently made film that is not aimed at a mass audience. .ome of the films on this list are also considered to 2e +auteur+ films, independent films, or e(perimental films. @n some cases, critics disagree over whether a film is mainstream or not. "or e(ample, while some critics called 1us Ean .ant7s . O,n Pri(ate Idaho ( 33 ) an +e(ercise in film e(perimentation+ of +high artistic #uality+, [ 9! the #ashington Post called it an am2itious mainstream film.[ H! .ome films in this list have most of these characteristics' other films are commercially-made films produced 2y mainstream studios that nevertheless 2ear the hallmarks of a director7s +auteur+ style, or which have an e(perimental character. /he films in this list are nota2le either 2ecause they won ma5or awards or critical praise from influential film critics or 2ecause they introduced an innovative narrative or filmmaking techni#ue.
1920s-19"0s
@n the 3%4s and 3,4s, filmmakers did not set out to make +art films+, and film critics did not use the term +art film+. $owever, there were films that had more sophisticated aesthetic o25ectives, such as ?arl /heodor )reyer7s silent film The Passion of 0oan of Arc ( 3%I), surrealist film such as ;uis *u<uel7s 1n chien andalou ( 3%3) and L'2ge d'Or ( 3,4), or even films dealing with political and current-event relevance such as .ergei 0isenstein7s famed and influential masterpiece Battleshi" Potemkin. /he -. film &unrise3 A &ong of T,o !umans ( 3%H) 2y 1erman 0(pressionist director ". 8. Aurnau uses distorted art design and ground2reaking cinematography to create an e(aggerated, fairy-tale-like world that was rich with sym2olism and imagery. >ean Denoir7s film The Rules of the $ame ( 3,3) was a comedy of manners that transcended the conventions of the +comedy of manners+ genre 2y creating a 2iting and tragic satire of "rench upper class society in the years 2efore 88 @@' a poll of critics from the *ritish "ilm @nstitute ranked it as the third greatest film ever, placing 2ehind Citi4en 5ane and Vertigo.[ I! .ome of these early artistically-oriented films were financed 2y wealthy individuals rather than film companies, particularly in cases where the content of the film was controversial or unlikely to attract an audience. @n the late 364s, -N director Aichael Cowell and 0meric Cress2urger made The Red &hoes ( 36I), a film a2out 2allet that stood out from mainstream genre films of the era. @n 36:, )avid ;ean would direct Brief Encounter, an adaptation of GoOl ?oward7s play &till Life, which o2serves a passionate love affair 2etween an upper class man and a middle class woman amidst the social and economical issues that *ritain faced at the time.
1950s
@n the 3:4s, some of the well-known films with artistic sensi2ilities include La &trada ( 3:6), a film a2out a young woman who is forced to go to work for a cruel and inhumane circus performer in order to support her family and eventually coming to terms with her situation, ?arl /heodor )reyer7s Ordet ( 3:9), centering around family with a lack of faith amongst it 2ut with a son who 2elieves that he is >esus ?hrist and convinced that he is capa2le of performing miracles, "ederico "ellini7s 'ights of Ca6iria ( 3:H), which deals with a prostitutePs failed attempts to find love, and her suffering and re5ections, and #ild &tra,6erries ( 3:H), 2y @ngmar *ergman, whose narrative concerns an elderly medical doctor and professor whose nightmares lead him to re-evaluate his life, and The 788 Blo,s ( 3:3) 2y "ranKois /ruffaut, whose main character is a young man trying to come of age despite the a2use from his parents, schoolteachers, and society in general. @n Coland, the Nhrushchev /haw permitted some rela(ation of the regime7s cultural policies, and productions such as A $eneration, 5anal, Ashes and 9iamonds, Lotna ( 3:6Q 3:3), all directed 2y AndrJe5 8a5da, showed the Colish "ilm .chool style. @n @ndia, there was an art film movement in *engali cinema known as +Carallel ?inema+ or the +@ndian Gew 8ave+. @t was an alternative to the mainstream commercial cinema known for its serious content, realism
and naturalism, with a keen eye on the social-political climate of the times. /his movement is distinct from mainstream *ollywood cinema and 2egan around the same time as the "rench Gew 8ave and >apanese Gew 8ave. /he most influential filmmaker involved in this movement was .atya5it Day. $is most famous films were the The A"u Trilog ( 3::Q 3:3), which tells the story of a poor country 2oy7s growth to adulthood. *imal Doy7s T,o Acres of Land ( 3:,) tells the story of a farmer during a famine in *engal. Fther acclaimed *engali filmmakers involved in this movement include Arinal .en and Ditwik 1hatak. >apanese filmmakers produced a num2er of films that 2roke with convention. Akira Nurosawa7s Rashomon ( 3:4), the first >apanese film to 2e widely screened in the west, depicts four witnesses7 contradictory accounts of a rape and murder. @n 3:%, Nurosawa directed Ikiru, a film a2out a /okyo 2ureaucrat struggling to find a meaning for life. Fther >apanese films from this era include Tok o &tor ( 3:,) 2y Rasu5iro FJu, &e(en &amurai ( 3:6) 2y Nurosawa, /ires on the Plain ( 3:3) 2y Non @chikawa, and 1getsu ( 3:,) and &ansho the Bailiff ( 3:6) 2y Nen5i AiJoguchi.
1960s
/he 394s was a important period in art film, giving rise to the 0uropean art cinema. /he early 394s saw the release of a num2er of ground2reaking films. >ean-;uc 1odard7s Breathless ( 394) used innovative visual and editing techni#ues such as 5ump cuts and hand-held camera work. 0ules et 0im 2y "ranKois /ruffaut would deconstruct a comple( relationship of three individuals over the course of their eventful lives through innovative screenwriting, editing, and camera techni#ues. @n @taly, Aichelangelo Antonioni helped revolutioniJe the art films, with such films as La 'otte ( 39 ), a comple( e(amination of a failed marriage that dealt with issues such as anomie and sterility' L'Eclisse ( 39%), a2out a young woman who is una2le to form a solid relationship with her 2oyfriend 2ecause of his materialistic nature' The Red 9esert ( 396), his first color film, which deals with the need to adapt to the modern world' and Blo,u" ( 399), Antonioni7s first 0nglish language film, which e(amines issues of perception and reality as it follows a young photographerPs attempt to discover whether he had photographed a murder. .wedish director @ngmar *ergman started off the 394s with cham2er pieces like #inter Light ( 39,) and The &ilence ( 39,) dealing with such themes as emotional isolation and a lack of communication. $is films from the later half of the decade, such as Persona ( 399), &hame ( 39I), and A Passion ( 393), deal with the idea of film as an artifice. @ntellectual and visually e(pressive films of /adeusJ Nonwicki, such as All &ouls' 9a (:adus4ki, 39 ), and especially &alto ( 39%) inspired discussions a2out war and raised e(istential #uestions on 2ehalf of their everyman protagonists. "ederico "ellini7s La 9olce Vita ( 394) depicts a succession of nights and dawns in Dome as witnessed 2y a cynical 5ournalist. @n 39,, he made ;<, an e(ploration of creative, marital and spiritual difficulties shot in sumptuous 2lack-and-white 2y cinematographer 1ianni de EenanJo. /he 39 film Last +ear at .arien6ad 2y director Alain Desnais e(amines perception and reality, using grand tracking shots that 2ecame widely influential. Do2ert *resson7s Au !asard Baltha4ar ( 399) is nota2le for its naturalistic, elliptical style. ;uis *u<uel7s Belle de 0our ( 39H) shocked audiences with its masochistic fantasies a2out floggings and 2ondage. Dussian director Andrei /arkovsky7s film Andrei Ru6le( ( 399) is a portrait of the medieval Dussian icon painter of the same name. /he film is also a2out artistic freedom and the possi2ility and necessity of making art for, and in the face of, a repressive authority. A cut version of the film was shown at the 393 ?annes "ilm "estival, where it won the "@CD0.?@ priJe.[ 3! /he 2ook /he /op 44 "ilms states that the film is a masterpiece and one of /arkovsky7s 2est works. [%4! At the end of the decade, .tanley Nu2rick7s =88>3 A &"ace Od sse ( 39I) wowed audiences with its scientific realism, pioneering use of special effects, and unusual visual imagery. @n .oviet Armenia, .ergei Cara5anov7s The Color of Pomegranates, which was 2anned 2y .oviet authorities, and also long unavaila2le in the west, was praised 2y critic Aikhail Eartanov as +revolutionary+ [% ! and in the early 3I4s, Les Cahiers du Cin)ma placed the film in its top 4 list.[%%! @n @ran, )ariush Aehr5ui7s The Co, ( 393), a2out a man who 2ecomes insane after the death of his 2eloved cow, sparked the new wave of @ranian cinema.
19 0s
@n the early 3H4s, directors shocked audiences with violent films such as A Clock,ork Orange ( 3H ), .tanley Nu2rick7s 2rutal e(ploration of futuristic youth gangs and Last Tango in Paris ( 3H%), *ernardo *ertolucci7s ta2oo-2reaking, se(ually-e(plicit and controversial film. Gevertheless, other directors did more introspective films, such as Andrei /arkovsky7s meditative science fiction film &olaris ( 3H%), supposedly intended as a .oviet riposte to =88>. @n 3H:, /arkovsky directed another film which garnered critical acclaim overseas, The .irror. /errence Aalick, who directed Badlands ( 3H,) and 9a s of !ea(en ( 3HI) shared many traits with /arkovsky, such as his long, lingering shots of natural 2eauty, evocative imagery, and poetic narrative style. Another feature of 3H4s art films was the return to prominence of 2iJarre characters and imagery, which a2ound in the tormented, o2sessed title character in 1erman Gew 8ave director 8erner $erJog7s Aguirre? the #rath of $od ( 3H,), and in cult films such as Ale5andro >odorowsky7s psychedelic The !ol .ountain ( 3H,) a2out a footless, handless dwarf and an alchemist seeking the mythical ;otus @sland[%,! /he film Ta@i 9ri(er ( 3H9) 2y Aartin .corsese continues the themes that Clock,ork Orange e(plored& an alienated population living in a violent, decaying society. /he gritty violence and seething rage of .corsese7s film contrasts other films released in the same period, such as )avid ;ynch7s dreamlike, surreal Eraserhead ( 3HH). @n 3H6 >ohn ?assavetes would offer a sharp commentary on American 2lue-collar life in A #oman 1nder the Influence, which features an eccentric housewife slowly descending into madness.
19!0s
@n 3I4, director Aartin .corsese shocked audiences who had 2ecome used to the escapist 2lock2uster adventures of .teven .piel2erg and 1eorge ;ucas with the gritty, harsh realism of his film Raging Bull. @n this film, actor Do2ert )e Giro took method acting to an e(treme to portray a 2o(er7s decline from a priJewinning young fighter to an overweight, +has-2een+ nightclu2 owner. Didley .cott7s Blade Runner ( 3I%), while la2eled as a fast-paced action film, could rather 2e seen as a science fiction art film, along with =88>3 A &"ace Od sse ( 39I). Blade Runner e(plores themes of e(istentialism& what it means to 2e human. A 2o( office failure, the film 2ecame popular in the arthouse circuit as a cult oddity after the release of a +)irector7s cut+ 2ecame successful on E$.. @n the middle of the decade, >apanese director Akira Nurosawa used realism to portray the 2rutal, 2loody violence of >apanese samurai warfare of the :44s in Ran ( 3I:). Ran followed the plot of 5ing Lear, in which an elderly king is 2etrayed 2y his children. .ergio ;eone also contrasted 2rutal violence with emotional su2stance in his epic tale of a mo2ster7s life in Once 1"on a Time in America. Fther directors in the 3I4s chose a more intellectual path, e(ploring philosophical and ethical issues. AndrJe5 8a5da7s .an of Iron ( 3I ) is a criti#ue of the Colish communist government which won the 3I Calme d7Fr at the ?annes "ilm "estival. Another Colish director, NrJysJtof NieSlowski made The 9ecalogue for television in 3II, a largely melancholic film series that e(plores ethical issues and moral puJJles. /wo of these films were released theatrically as A &hort /ilm A6out Lo(e and A &hort /ilm A6out 5illing. @n 3I3 8oody Allen would make, in the words of /he Gew Rork /imes critic Eincent ?an2y his most +securely serious and funny film to date+ in Crimes and .isdemeanors, which deals with multiple stories of people trying to find a moral and spiritual simplicity in life facing dire issues and thoughts surrounding the choices they make. "rench director ;ouis Aalle chose another moral path to e(plore with the dramatiJation of his real-life childhood e(periences in Au re(oir? les enfants, which depicts the GaJi occupation government7s deportation of "rench >ews to concentration camps during 88@@. NieSlowski was not the only director to transcend the distinction 2etween the cinema and television& @ngmar *ergman made /ann and Ale@ander ( 3I%) which was shown on television in an e(tended five-hour version. @n the -N, ?hannel 6, a new television channel, financed in whole or part many films released theatrically via its "ilm 6 su2sidiary. 8im 8enders offered another approach on life from a spiritual standpoint in his 3IH film #ings of 9esire, a depiction of a +fallen angel+ who lives among men which won the Calme d7Fr at the ?annes "ilm "estival. @n 3I%, e(perimental director 1odfrey Deggio released 5o aanisAatsi, a film without dialogue which emphasiJes cinematography and philosophical ideology. @t consists primarily of slow motion and time-lapse photography of cities and natural landscapes which creates a visual tone poem.[%6!
Another approach used 2y directors in the 3I4s was to create 2iJarre, surreal alternate worlds. Aartin .corsese7s After !ours ( 3I:) is a comedy-thriller that depicts a man7s 2affling adventures in a surreal nighttime world of chance encounters with mysterious characters. )avid ;ynch7s Blue Vel(et ( 3I9), is a film noir-style thriller mystery filled with sym2olism and metaphors a2out polariJed worlds and inha2ited 2y distorted characters that are hidden in the seamy underworld of a small town 2ecame surprisingly successful considering its highy distu2ing su25ect matter. Ceter 1reenaway7s The Cook? the Thief? !is #ife B !er Lo(er ( 3I3) is an outlandish fantasyT2lack comedy a2out canni2alism and e(treme violence with an intellectual theme& a criti#ue of 7elite culture7 in /hatcherian *ritain.
1990s
@n the 334s, directors took inspiration from the success of 3I97s Blue Vel(et and The Cook? the Thief? !is #ife B !er Lo(er 2y creating films with 2iJarre alternate worlds and elements of surrealism. @n 334, >apanese director Akira Nurosawa7s 9reams depicted his imaginative reveries in a series of vignettes that range from idyllic pastoral country landscapes to horrific visions of tormented demons and a 2lighted postnuclear war landscape. @n 33 , director >oel ?oen7s Barton /ink, which won the Calme d7or at the ?annes "ilm "estival, told an enigmatic story a2out a writer who encounters a range of 2iJarre characters including an alcoholic, a2usive novelist and a serial killer. )avid ;ynch7s 33H film Lost !igh,a is a psychological thriller that e(plores fantasy worlds, 2iJarre time-space transformations, and mental 2reakdowns using surreal imagery. Fther directors in the 334s e(plored philosophical issues and themes such as identity, chance, death, and e(istentialism. /he 334s films . O,n Pri(ate Idaho and Chungking E@"ress e(plored the theme of identity. 1us Ean .ant7s . O,n Pri(ate Idaho ( 33 ) is an independent road movieT2uddy movie a2out two young street hustlers which e(plores the theme of the search for home and identity. @t was called a +highwater mark in 734s independent film+,[%:! a +stark, poetic rumination+,[%9! and an +e(ercise in film e(perimentation+[%H! of +high artistic #uality+.[ 9! 8ong Nar-wai7s Chungking E@"ress ( 336)[%I! e(plores the themes of identity, disconnection, loneliness, and isolation in the +metaphoric concrete 5ungle+ of modern $ong Nong. /he film uses a visual style that could 2e seen as music video-influenced, and also 2ears similarities to the "rench Gew 8ave. 8hile the *ritish "ilm @nstitute called it one of the 2est Asian films of contemporary cinema, it is considered to 2e a film for cineophiles, 2ecause it is +largely a cere2ral e(perience+ which you en5oy +2ecause of what you know a2out film. A22as Niarostami7s film Taste of Cherr ( 33H),[%3! which won the Calme d7Fr at the ?annes "ilm "estival, tells the story of a man trying to hire a person to 2ury him after he commits suicide. /he film was shot in a minimalist style, with long takes, a leisurely pace, and long periods of silence. /he film was also nota2le for its use of long shots and overhead shots which creates a sense of distance 2etween the audience and the characters. Uhang Rimou7s early 334s works such as 0u 9ou ( 334), Raise the Red Lantern ( 33 ), The &tor of Ciu 0u ( 33%) and To Li(e ( 336) e(plore human emotions through a poignant narrative. To Li(e won the 1rand >ury CriJe. .everal 334s films e(plored e(istentialist-oriented themes related to life, chance, and death. Do2ert Altman7s &hort Cuts ( 33,) e(plored themes of chance, death, and infidelity 2y tracing ten parallel and interwoven stories. /he film, which won the 1olden ;ion and the Eolpi ?up at the Eenice "ilm "estival, was called a +many-sided, many mooded, daJJlingly structured eclectic 5aJJ mural+ 2y ?hicago /ri2une critic Aichael 8ilmington. NrJysJtof Nieslowski7s The 9ou6le Life of V)roniAue ( 33 ) is a drama a2out the theme of identity and a political allegory a2out the 0astT8est split in 0urope which features styliJed cinematography, an ethereal atmosphere, and une(plained supernatural elements. A22as Niarostami7s film Taste of Cherr ( 33H)[%3! a2out a man trying to hire a person to 2ury him after he commits suicide. /he film, which was shot in a minimalist style, with long takes, won the Calme d7Fr at the ?annes "ilm "estival. )arren Aronofsky7s film Pi ( 33I) is a dream-like +...incredi2ly comple( and am2iguous film filled with 2oth incredi2le style and su2stance+ a2out a paranoid math genius7 +search for peace.+ [,4! /he film creates a )avid ;ynch-inspired,+... eerie Eraserhead-like world+[, ! shot in +2lack-and-white, which lends a dream-like atmosphere to all of the proceedings+, which e(plore issues such as +metaphysics and spirituality+ [,%!
Aatthew *arney7s The Cremaster C cle ( 336Q%44%) is a cycle of five sym2olic, allegorical films that create a self-enclosed aesthetic system that aims to e(plore the process of creation. /he films are filled with allusions to reproductive organs and se(ual development, and they use narrative models drawn from 2iography, mythology, and geology. .ome 334s films mi(ed an ethereal or surreal visual atmosphere with the e(ploration of philosophical issues. &atantango ( 336), 2y the $ungarian director *ela /arr is a HV hour long film, shot in 2lack and white, that deals with /arrPs favorite theme, that of inade#uacy, as con man @rimias comes 2ack to a village at an unspecified location in $ungary, setting himself up as leader and as a Aessiah figure to the gulli2le villagers. Nieslowski7s Three Colors trilogy ( 33,-6), particularly Blue ( 33,) and Red ( 336) deal with human relationships, and how people cope with them alongside their day-to-day lives. /he trilogy was called an e(ploration of +...una2ashedly spiritual and e(istential issues+ [,,! that created a +truly transcendent e(perience+.[,6!
2000s
A num2er of films from the %444s with art film #ualities were nota2le due to their use of innovative filmmaking or editing techni#ues. .emento (%44 ), a psychological thriller directed 2y ?hristopher Golan is a2out a man suffering from short-term memory loss. /he film is edited so that the plot is revealed 2ackwards in ten-minute chunks, simulating the condition of memory loss. Eternal &unshine of the &"otless .ind (%446) is a romance film directed 2y Aichel 1ondry a2out a man who hires a company to erase the memory of a 2ad relationship. /he film used a range of special effect techni#ues and camera work to depict the destruction of the man7s memories and his transitions from one memory to another. Timecode (%444), a film directed 2y Aike "iggis, uses a split screen to show four continuous 34 minute takes that follow four storylines. Russian Ark (%44%), a film directed 2y Ale(ander .okurov took "iggis7 use of e(tended takes even further' it is nota2le for 2eing the first feature film shot in a single, unedited take. #aking Life (%44 ), an animated film directed 2y Dichard ;inklater uses an innovative digital rotoscope techni#ue to depict a young man stuck in a dream. [,:! .everal %444s-era films e(plored the theme of amnesia or memory, 2ut unlike .emento, they did so using narrative techni#ues rather than filmmaking and editing methods. .ulholland 9ri(e (%44 ), directed 2y )avid ;ynch is initially a2out a young woman who moves to $ollywood and discovers that an amnesiac is living in her house, although as the plot progresses it 2ecomes apparent the film is holding something deeper in terms of its plot and characters. Old6o (%44,), directed 2y Cark ?han-wook, is a2out a man imprisoned 2y a mysterious and 2rutal captor for : years who must then chase his old memories when he is a2ruptly released. Pe""ermint Cand (%444), directed 2y ;ee ?hang-dong, starts with the suicide of the male protagonist, and then uses reverse chronology (like .emento) to depict the events of the last %4 years which led the man to want to kill himself. .ome of the nota2le films from the %444s that have 2een considered to have art film-#ualities differed from mainstream films in controversial su25ect matter or in narrative form. Ele"hant (%44,), a film directed 2y 1us Ean .ant, for e(ample, depicting mass murder at a high school that echoed the ?olum2ine $igh .chool massacre, won top priJe at the ?annes "ilm "estival. Fther of his films include $err , Last 9a s, and Paranoid Park. /odd $aynes7 comple( deconstruction of *o2 )ylan7s persona, I'm 'ot There (%44H), tells its story using non-traditional narrative techni#ues, intercutting the story-lines of the si( different )ylaninspired characters. Fther nota2le films include !arsh Times, a story a2out an e(-soldier who is tormented 2y the horrors of war and !ard Cand , a psychological thriller focusing on a confrontation 2etween a se(ual predator and a 6-year-old girl he attempts to ensnare. Ae(ican director 1uillermo del /oro7s film Pan's La6 rinth uses ?omputer-generated imagery (?1@) technology to create a fantastical world that a ten yearold girl imagines to 2lock out the horror of the .panish ?ivil 8ar. Enc clo"edia Britannica calls del /oro7s film +...a wonderful marriage of $ollywood genre [film! and 0uropean art film+. [,9! ;ewis *eale of /ilm 0ournal International stated that Australian director Andrew )ominik7s western film The Assassination of 0esse 0ames 6 the Co,ard Ro6ert /ord (%44H) is +a fascinating, literary-2ased work
that succeeds as 2oth art and genre film.+[,H! -nlike the more action-oriented >esse >ames movies of the past, )ominik7s unconventional epic, perhaps more accurately, details the outlaw7s relin#uishing psyche during the final months of his life as he finds himself succum2ing to the paranoia of 2eing captured and developing a rather precarious friendship with his eventual assassin, Do2ert "ord. @n %443, director Caul /homas Anderson claimed that his film Punch 9runk Lo(e, a2out a shy, repressed rageaholic was +an art house Adam .andler film+, a reference to the unlikely inclusion of +frat 2oy+ comic .andler in the film' critic Doger 02ert claims that Punch 9runk Lo(e +...may 2e the key to all of the Adam .andler films, and may li2erate .andler for a new direction in his work. $e can7t go on making those moronic comedies forever, can heM 8ho would have guessed he had such uncharted depthsM+. [,I!
Related concepts
Art tele#ision
A genre or style of +art television+ (or +#uality television+) has 2een identified, which shares some of the same traits of art films. /elevision shows such as )avid ;ynch7s T,in Peaks series and **?7s The &inging 9etecti(e also have +...a loosening of causality, a greater emphasis on psychological or anecdotal realism, violations of classical clarity of space and time, e(plicit authorial comment, and am2iguity.+ Fther television shows that have 2een called +art television,+ such as The &im"sons, use a +...flurry of cultural references, intentionally inconsistent characteriJation, and considera2le self-refle(ivity a2out television conventions and the status of the programme as a television show.+[,3! $*F7s The #ire might also 2e #ualified as +art television+ as it has garnered a larger amount of critical attention from academics than most television shows. "or e(ample, the film theory 5ournal /ilm Cuarterl has featured the show on its cover.[64! ;ost (tv series) is a e(ample of +art television+, 2ecause of his vast mythology that contains philosophical and religious references, profound characters and the mystery 2eyond them that contri2ute to active fan7s speculations.
References
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