French Impressionism and Surrealist Cinema describes a group of French films and filmmakers of the 1920’s, and is often found difficult to categorize as a distinct “movement” in the history of cinema. Rather, the types of films that display the characteristics of this style of cinema are often loosely defined as a mere part of the growing international avant-garde. However, two alternatives to the American style remained quite localized and specific to the French: those being Impressionism and Surrealism. The two separate parts to the French avant-garde differ in some ways; like in that Impressionism was a style that operated largely in within the film industry, whereas Surrealism lay largely outside the film industry, but the two also demonstrate similar artistic approaches- which may be why these two styles are so commonly thought of as one singular era in cinema.
IMPRESSIONISM
After the First World War, the French film industry was depleting rapidly, as vacant screens run by major firms such as Pathé Fréres and Leon Gaumont continued to go unfilled. They then mostly relied on imitation of Hollywood production methods and genres in order to keep themselves afloat. However, these firms also began to encourage some of the younger, up-and-coming French directors, who immediately brought a very different approach to what was considered “good” cinema in the early 1920’s.
Some of these directors included Germaine Dulac, Louis Delluc, Marcel l’Herbier, Abel Gance, and Jean Epstein. These young directors were so different from their predecessors because they did not see filmmaking as a commercial craft as so many others did, but rather felt the need to argue that cinema was an art comparable to poetry, painting, and music. They often expressed these beliefs through poetic essays, meant to proclaim that cinema should be purely itself, and should not borrow from the theater or literature, and that cinema, like all other art forms, should be an occasion for the artist to express feelings. What changed the face of cinema in France during this time period was when younger filmmakers, including Dulac, Delluc, l’Herbier, Gance and Epstein finally sought to put this aesthetic into practice.
Impressionist filmmakers in the era were operating somewhat independently during the 1920’s, forming their own production companies or leasing studio facilities in exchange for distribution rights. Some Impressionist films did prove to be relatively popular with French audiences and managed to bring in a fair amount of money, however most foreign audiences never really jumped on the Impressionist style. As a result, filmmakers’ companies either went out of business or were absorbed by bigger firms, and once the arrival of sound film came along, the French film industry had no money to risk on any further experiments in film. However, despite the Impressionist films' limited circulation outside of France, they did influence other filmmakers. Several elements used in filming Impressionist cinema was then picked up by German filmmakers, who popularized some techniques. So, it is not to say that the impact of French Impressionism, however small, was not influential in cinema for years after its decline.
Key Characteristics:
One of the most important details to note about the Impressionists is that they saw art as a form of expression, conveying the personal vision of the artist, and that art creates an experience that leads to emotions for the viewer. These filmmakers truly aimed to convey this through their work, by creating feelings not by making direct statements but by evoking or suggesting them. This movement was essentially given the name Impressionist because of its interest in giving narration thorough psychological depth, and truly revealing the details of a character’s consciousness.
The ways in which these artists began experimenting with cinema were truly alternative to the dominant stylistic principles of Hollywood present in the early 1920’s. The plots and subject matter of early Impressionist cinema tend to consist of the interactions of a few characters, usually a love triangle, that serves as a basis for the filmmaker’s exploration of primal moods, feelings, and sensations. The interest of these films tends to be focused on inner psychological action, rather than external physical behaviour- a characteristic exclusive to the Impressionist movement, and very much unlike any cinema prior to these films. Impressionism’s emphasis on personal emotion is what gives the films’ narratives an intensely psychological focus.
The Impressionist movement earned its title as well for its use of film style. As the filmmakers were very focused on the psychological aspects of the narrative, they experimented with new ways of rendering mental states by means of cinematography and editing. In many of these films, irises, masks, and superimpositions were used to convey traces of character’s thoughts and feelings.
La roue (1923)
Cinematography and editing were also used to intensify the subjectivity of the scenes, and to present the character’s perceptual experience. In order to do so, these films tend to use point-of-view cutting among other techniques to give the viewer the perceptual experience of the character. For example, if a character in a film becomes drunk, the filmmaker would render that experience to the viewer through distorted or filtered shots or through shaky camera movement. Impressionist filmmakers also experimented with rhythmic editing, in order to convey the pace of an experience in the film- again, as the character sees it. In a scene filled with violence or emotional turmoil, the rhythm would begin to accelerate; the shots would get shorter and shorter, and would build to a climax, sometimes with shots only a few frames long. Again, the experimental design of the cinematography and editing is used to convey emotions to the viewer, in order to evoke the feelings of the character inside others.
In order to instill the characters’ emotions in others, the Impressionists also raised the bar on film technology. The most influential Impressionist technological innovation was the development of new means of frame mobility. Rather than having every scene shot from a still camera position, Impressionists experimented with movement by strapping their cameras to cars, carousels, and locomotives. This type of experimental shooting was necessary for these filmmakers because they realized that if the camera was to represent a character’s eyes/vision, then it must be able to move with the ease of a person. This realization was essential for these artists to be able to convey their character’s movements and feelings with ease.
Cœur fidèle (1923)
Prominent Contributors:
Abel Gance (La dixième symphonie, 1918; La roue, 1923, Napoléon, 1927)
Louis Delluc (L’inondation, 1924)
Germaine Dulac (La souriante Madame Beudet, 1923)
Marcel L’Herbier (L’argent, 1928)
Jean Epstein (Coeur fidèle, 1923; La belle Nivernaise, 1924)
SURREALISM
Surrealism, much like Impressionism, was an avant-garde movement in France, consisting of a small group of writers, artists, and filmmakers. Unlike Impressionism, Surrealism tended to lay more outside of the film industry, and filmmakers had to rely on their own means to practice their art form. Surrealist cinema was a more radical movement, producing films that would perplex and shock ordinary audiences. The movement used irrational and absurd imagery, as well as Freudian dream symbolism, to challenge the traditional function of art to represent reality. The aim of Surrealism was that the free form of the film would awake the deepest impulses of the viewer, even if those impulses were unsavory.
Surrealist cinema is largely characterized by juxtapositions, the rejection of dramatic or complex psychology, and the usage of shocking imagery. The very essence of Surrealism refuses to be here, but is always elsewhere. It is not a thing, but a relation between things. This almost random style of art originated from another movement that grew into Surrealism, called Dadaism. Dada began as a result of many artists’ view of the vast, meaningless loss of life in World War 1, and was meant to elevate an absurdist view of the world. From this movement Surrealism was born, as both movements were based on artistic creativity on randomness and imagination
Key Characteristics:
The style of Surrealist cinema is eclectic, and the Mise-en-scène is often influenced by Surrealist painting. One of the most recognizable characteristics of Surrealist cinema is discontinuous editing, used to fracture any coherence of space and time. Dissolves and superimpositions were also often used to achieve this look. Surrealist cinema displays the search for bizarre or evocative imagery, and the deliberate avoidance of rationally explicable form or style.
La coquille et le clergyman (1928)
Much unlike Impressionist cinema, which strives to accurately represent the psychological aspects of the narrative, Surrealist films tend to toss the narrative aside and focus on revealing the hidden subconscious- the frames that make almost no sense when streamed together. Both the movements are similar in that the original participants were inspired to represent cinema as an art form in and of itself, but each of the two styles of filmmakers were aiming to evoke very different feelings within the audience. Surrealism portrays a more radical, nonsensical form of Impressionism, however vastly different the two movements were.
Un chien andalou (1928)
Prominent Contributors:
Germaine Dulac (La coquille et le clergyman, 1928)
Lui Buñuel/ Salvador Dali (Un chien andalou, 1928; L’Âge d’or, 1930)
Jean Cocteau (Le sang d’un poète, 1930)
Man Ray (Emak Bakia, 1927)
André Breton (author of the Surrealist Manifesto, 1924- was considered the spokesperson for Surrealism)
La dixième symphonie (1918)
Description
In La dixieme symphonie, a 1918 film by Abel Gance, Eve, a rich orphan, falls prey to Fred, an immoral man, along with his sister, who Eve kills in attempt to free herself. One year later, she marries Enric, a famous composer. When Claire, her stepdaughter, falls in love with Fred and wants to marry him, Eve tries to prevent the marriage. Her husband believes she is in love with Fred, which awakens the artist in him and leads him to create the masterpiece that becomes the Tenth Symphony. Eve agrees to meet Fred at his house if he calls the wedding off, and once she is there he blackmails her with the proof of her guilt in the murder of his sister. He asks Eve to come back and leave with him, and she accepts the infamous deal. Distraught by her fiancés betrayal, Claire goes to Fred’s house surprised to find Eve, exhausted and without strength, who let herself be drawn away by Fred. Claire threatens Fred with a gun she had brought from her father’s house, and Fred pulls out his own gun, only to surprise them both by turning it and shooting himself, ending the battle.
Observation
In terms of camera work, the entire film is essentially shot from mid-level, so that the actors’ bodies are always shown from at least their waists up to slightly above their heads. The subjects are almost always in the middle of the frame, with not much deviation from that in order to create more visual interest. Much in tune to impressionist style, the film is more interested in creating feelings in the viewer’s mind, and not in solely making the film interesting to look at. Also à propos to that, there is no zoom-in or zoom-out while a clip is playing, the camera never pans or moves while filming, and if there ever is a change in the focus/size of the frame, the film changes to a different clip. The lighting patterns in the films are basic, and because the lighting always appears to be stemming from the middle of the frame, it appears as though the lighting design was meant clearly to only illuminate the entire frame, and not to convey any feeling or dimension to the scenes themselves. The costumes and location in the film were very tastefully chosen, adding to the plot and what the director was most likely trying to do, and not taking away from the story whatsoever. There were no special effects to spice up the film in ways that were previously done, likely because the main focus of the film was the narrative, and the director did not want to take away from that. However, the actors’ facial expressions and actions did work marvellously to convey the meaning of the scenes, because audio was not yet used to do so. The facial expressions and gestures are what some may call over-the-top, however not in the way of slapstick comedies or other films of that genre, but in ways that effectively portrayed the plot and the emotions of the characters.
Analysis
The film La dixième symphonie is one of the first of its kind to evoke emotional and intellectual responses from the viewer. The narrative is notably complex compared to that of films released in France previous to the impressionist era, and it surprises viewers with a variety of different emotions: shock, horror, worry, romance, and suspense, to name a few.
Evaluation
La dixième symphonie provides an excellent example of the classic French Impressionist film style and displays many of the trademark characteristics. This style is evident in Gances’ interest in giving narration considerable psychological depth, revealing the play of a character's consciousness. This seems to be shown best by Eve and her rollercoaster of emotions throughout the film, as well as the emotions that drove Enric to release his inner pain by creating a masterpiece- which may be much like the way filmmakers in this era released their artistry through film. As this film was released at the very beginning of the French Impressionist movement in cinema, it was one of the first to demonstrate some of the most recognizable characteristics of French Impressionist cinema, and very well may have paved the road for the rest of the films to come in the movements’ era.
La souriante Madame Beudet (1923)
Description
Released in 1923 by Germaine Dulac, La souriante Madame Beudet is considered to be the prototype of feminist cinema. It tells the story of an intelligent woman trapped in a loveless marriage. Married to a brutish and crude man, Madame Beudet’s only comforts are her piano, and imagination. However, even the freedom of her music is controlled by her husband, as he holds the key to her piano. She appears confined in her own home, and the irony in the title is that “The smiling Madame Beudet” is never smiling. Her husband is used to playing a stupid practical joke in which he puts an empty revolver to his head and threatens to shoot himself. One day, while the husband is away, she puts bullets in the revolver. But she is then stricken with remorse and tries to retrieve the bullets the next morning; however her husband gets to the revolver first, only this time he points the revolver at her. He misses, instead hitting a flower plant on a shelf, and is then deeply apologetic and embraces her, asking what he would ever do without her.
Observation
This is another film that is shot from mid-level almost entirely through the movie. There is also no panning while in a shot, and very little camera movement overall (except that of which is unintentional). However, this movie is quite different from La dixième symphonie in that it uses lighting and camera zoom to intentionally highlight/take away from objects, or to create a particular mood or feeling. It features regular set lighting in many scenes, as well as backlighting only when a scene has a particularly dark or mysterious feel, as well as spot lighting when a particular object/person/facial expression is important. It also features lighting from above as another way to create a mood or feeling, as well as a vignette-style focus, where the important spot in the scene is in the middle of the frame, with the frame being whited out (see 10:24 for example).
This film also uses some special effects and interesting camera work in a select few scenes. At 5:22, there appears to be two different people from two different places in one frame, a sort of split frame. In another scene, there are some special effects such as that hazy white border, designated to create the feeling that the character is having a dream. As well as in the scene at 6:54, special effects are used to decrease the opacity of several actors, giving them the appearances of ghost-like characters.
Analysis
The emotional and intellectual responses from the viewer watching this film is derived from Madame Beudet, and how she is confined to the interior, which was classically the world of women. Dulac subverts this symbol, by creating a prison through the use of windows and linear imagery, literally creating a prisoner of her character. Even the traditional roles of womanhood associated with upholding the household and home are shown to be under the jurisdiction of the male, as he subverts and abuses even her most menial task. These details of the film are what draw the viewer in to Madame Beudet’s world, and what makes her pain and hopelessness evident in the film feel real in the viewer’s own mind.
Evaluation
La souriante Madame Beudet represents what appears to be a step in the modern direction for a French Impressionist film, with the use of more interesting lighting and film composition techniques. The essence of the film remains true to the movement, because although every aspect of Madame Beudet’s life is controlled and monitored, the abuse she suffers is almost entirely psychological. This is what classifies the film as Impressionist- it is a result of the artists’ (filmmakers’) interest in giving narration thorough psychological depth, and truly revealing the details of a character’s consciousness.
La coquille et le clergyman (1928)
“The film is so cryptic as to be almost meaningless. If there is a meaning, it is doubtless objectionable.”
– British Board of Film Censors
Description
La coquille et le clergyman (1928), written by Antonin Artaud and directed by Germaine Dulac, is a classic example of French Surrealism cinema. Although the film has almost no real narrative or plot, the clergyman (who appears to be the main character), is obsessed with a general’s woman, and because of this has strange visions of death and lust, seemingly struggling against his own eroticism.
Observation
In terms of camerawork, this classic surrealist film is very similar to that of La souriante Madame Beudet (1918), as it uses techniques like a vignette-style white hazy overlay to create the feeling of a dream, as well as simple and mid-focused camera angles. It also uses some more complex special effects such as slow motion, warping images, and plenty of superimposition. In one section of the film it appears as though a man’s face has been cut in half. There were also new techniques in the transitioning from clip to clip, such as fading in from one scene to a scene in a slightly different location, giving the feeling of time passing.
Costuming in the film are appropriately suited to show hierarchy, as the clergyman is dressed in simple black clothing, and the general and his woman are dressed more elegantly in a general’s uniform and a large ball gown. The film features over-the-top facial expressions, as well as simpler features, such as the calm face of the woman in the film. There are scenes of comedic acting from that of the clergyman, as well as the face of a horrific man, as well as more “realistic” behaviour from the general and his lady. The film truly embodies the nonsensical and perplexing order of scenes that is the trademark of French Surrealist cinema.
Analysis
This film is one that is meant to truly perplex and shock the minds of the viewers, and it does just that. As Artaud put it:
“It's a film of pure images. The Seashell and the Clergyman does not tell a story but develops a series of mental states, which are deduced from each other as thought is from thought.”
Evaluation
La coquille et le clergyman (1928) is what I consider to be a classic Surrealist film. The film achieves what every Surrealist filmmaker seemed to want to achieve: to use irrational and absurd imagery to challenge the traditional function of art to represent reality. In this respect, the film represents the epitome of what French Surrealism looked like in the early 20th century.
Works Cited Information/ Photos:
Bordwell, David. Film Art: An Introduction. 10.th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. 472-476. Print.
"French Impressionism: 1918-1929." CineCollage. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. "Surrealist Cinema?" CineCollage. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. Hood, Nathanael. "La Coquille Et Le Clergyman (The Seashell and the Clergyman)." Forgotten Classics of Yesteryear. 26 May 2010. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
Videos: "La Coquille Et Le Clergyman 1926, Germaine Dulac)." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. "La Souriante Madame Beudet - 1923 English Subtitles." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. "La Dixième Symphonie/The Tenth Symphony (1918 Film by A. Gance) (French/English)." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
Introduction:
French Impressionism and Surrealist Cinema describes a group of French films and filmmakers of the 1920’s, and is often found difficult to categorize as a distinct “movement” in the history of cinema. Rather, the types of films that display the characteristics of this style of cinema are often loosely defined as a mere part of the growing international avant-garde. However, two alternatives to the American style remained quite localized and specific to the French: those being Impressionism and Surrealism. The two separate parts to the French avant-garde differ in some ways; like in that Impressionism was a style that operated largely in within the film industry, whereas Surrealism lay largely outside the film industry, but the two also demonstrate similar artistic approaches- which may be why these two styles are so commonly thought of as one singular era in cinema.
IMPRESSIONISM
After the First World War, the French film industry was depleting rapidly, as vacant screens run by major firms such as Pathé Fréres and Leon Gaumont continued to go unfilled. They then mostly relied on imitation of Hollywood production methods and genres in order to keep themselves afloat. However, these firms also began to encourage some of the younger, up-and-coming French directors, who immediately brought a very different approach to what was considered “good” cinema in the early 1920’s.
Some of these directors included Germaine Dulac, Louis Delluc, Marcel l’Herbier, Abel Gance, and Jean Epstein. These young directors were so different from their predecessors because they did not see filmmaking as a commercial craft as so many others did, but rather felt the need to argue that cinema was an art comparable to poetry, painting, and music. They often expressed these beliefs through poetic essays, meant to proclaim that cinema should be purely itself, and should not borrow from the theater or literature, and that cinema, like all other art forms, should be an occasion for the artist to express feelings. What changed the face of cinema in France during this time period was when younger filmmakers, including Dulac, Delluc, l’Herbier, Gance and Epstein finally sought to put this aesthetic into practice.
Impressionist filmmakers in the era were operating somewhat independently during the 1920’s, forming their own production companies or leasing studio facilities in exchange for distribution rights. Some Impressionist films did prove to be relatively popular with French audiences and managed to bring in a fair amount of money, however most foreign audiences never really jumped on the Impressionist style. As a result, filmmakers’ companies either went out of business or were absorbed by bigger firms, and once the arrival of sound film came along, the French film industry had no money to risk on any further experiments in film. However, despite the Impressionist films' limited circulation outside of France, they did influence other filmmakers. Several elements used in filming Impressionist cinema was then picked up by German filmmakers, who popularized some techniques. So, it is not to say that the impact of French Impressionism, however small, was not influential in cinema for years after its decline.
Key Characteristics:
One of the most important details to note about the Impressionists is that they saw art as a form of expression, conveying the personal vision of the artist, and that art creates an experience that leads to emotions for the viewer. These filmmakers truly aimed to convey this through their work, by creating feelings not by making direct statements but by evoking or suggesting them. This movement was essentially given the name Impressionist because of its interest in giving narration thorough psychological depth, and truly revealing the details of a character’s consciousness.
The ways in which these artists began experimenting with cinema were truly alternative to the dominant stylistic principles of Hollywood present in the early 1920’s. The plots and subject matter of early Impressionist cinema tend to consist of the interactions of a few characters, usually a love triangle, that serves as a basis for the filmmaker’s exploration of primal moods, feelings, and sensations. The interest of these films tends to be focused on inner psychological action, rather than external physical behaviour- a characteristic exclusive to the Impressionist movement, and very much unlike any cinema prior to these films. Impressionism’s emphasis on personal emotion is what gives the films’ narratives an intensely psychological focus.
The Impressionist movement earned its title as well for its use of film style. As the filmmakers were very focused on the psychological aspects of the narrative, they experimented with new ways of rendering mental states by means of cinematography and editing. In many of these films, irises, masks, and superimpositions were used to convey traces of character’s thoughts and feelings.
Cinematography and editing were also used to intensify the subjectivity of the scenes, and to present the character’s perceptual experience. In order to do so, these films tend to use point-of-view cutting among other techniques to give the viewer the perceptual experience of the character. For example, if a character in a film becomes drunk, the filmmaker would render that experience to the viewer through distorted or filtered shots or through shaky camera movement. Impressionist filmmakers also experimented with rhythmic editing, in order to convey the pace of an experience in the film- again, as the character sees it. In a scene filled with violence or emotional turmoil, the rhythm would begin to accelerate; the shots would get shorter and shorter, and would build to a climax, sometimes with shots only a few frames long. Again, the experimental design of the cinematography and editing is used to convey emotions to the viewer, in order to evoke the feelings of the character inside others.
In order to instill the characters’ emotions in others, the Impressionists also raised the bar on film technology. The most influential Impressionist technological innovation was the development of new means of frame mobility. Rather than having every scene shot from a still camera position, Impressionists experimented with movement by strapping their cameras to cars, carousels, and locomotives. This type of experimental shooting was necessary for these filmmakers because they realized that if the camera was to represent a character’s eyes/vision, then it must be able to move with the ease of a person. This realization was essential for these artists to be able to convey their character’s movements and feelings with ease.
Prominent Contributors:
SURREALISM
Surrealism, much like Impressionism, was an avant-garde movement in France, consisting of a small group of writers, artists, and filmmakers. Unlike Impressionism, Surrealism tended to lay more outside of the film industry, and filmmakers had to rely on their own means to practice their art form. Surrealist cinema was a more radical movement, producing films that would perplex and shock ordinary audiences. The movement used irrational and absurd imagery, as well as Freudian dream symbolism, to challenge the traditional function of art to represent reality. The aim of Surrealism was that the free form of the film would awake the deepest impulses of the viewer, even if those impulses were unsavory.
Surrealist cinema is largely characterized by juxtapositions, the rejection of dramatic or complex psychology, and the usage of shocking imagery. The very essence of Surrealism refuses to be here, but is always elsewhere. It is not a thing, but a relation between things. This almost random style of art originated from another movement that grew into Surrealism, called Dadaism. Dada began as a result of many artists’ view of the vast, meaningless loss of life in World War 1, and was meant to elevate an absurdist view of the world. From this movement Surrealism was born, as both movements were based on artistic creativity on randomness and imagination
Key Characteristics:
The style of Surrealist cinema is eclectic, and the Mise-en-scène is often influenced by Surrealist painting. One of the most recognizable characteristics of Surrealist cinema is discontinuous editing, used to fracture any coherence of space and time. Dissolves and superimpositions were also often used to achieve this look. Surrealist cinema displays the search for bizarre or evocative imagery, and the deliberate avoidance of rationally explicable form or style.
Much unlike Impressionist cinema, which strives to accurately represent the psychological aspects of the narrative, Surrealist films tend to toss the narrative aside and focus on revealing the hidden subconscious- the frames that make almost no sense when streamed together. Both the movements are similar in that the original participants were inspired to represent cinema as an art form in and of itself, but each of the two styles of filmmakers were aiming to evoke very different feelings within the audience. Surrealism portrays a more radical, nonsensical form of Impressionism, however vastly different the two movements were.
Prominent Contributors:
La dixième symphonie (1918)
The lighting patterns in the films are basic, and because the lighting always appears to be stemming from the middle of the frame, it appears as though the lighting design was meant clearly to only illuminate the entire frame, and not to convey any feeling or dimension to the scenes themselves.
The costumes and location in the film were very tastefully chosen, adding to the plot and what the director was most likely trying to do, and not taking away from the story whatsoever. There were no special effects to spice up the film in ways that were previously done, likely because the main focus of the film was the narrative, and the director did not want to take away from that.
However, the actors’ facial expressions and actions did work marvellously to convey the meaning of the scenes, because audio was not yet used to do so. The facial expressions and gestures are what some may call over-the-top, however not in the way of slapstick comedies or other films of that genre, but in ways that effectively portrayed the plot and the emotions of the characters.
La souriante Madame Beudet (1923)
This film also uses some special effects and interesting camera work in a select few scenes. At 5:22, there appears to be two different people from two different places in one frame, a sort of split frame. In another scene, there are some special effects such as that hazy white border, designated to create the feeling that the character is having a dream. As well as in the scene at 6:54, special effects are used to decrease the opacity of several actors, giving them the appearances of ghost-like characters.
La coquille et le clergyman (1928)
“The film is so cryptic as to be almost meaningless. If there is a meaning, it is doubtless objectionable.”
– British Board of Film Censors
Costuming in the film are appropriately suited to show hierarchy, as the clergyman is dressed in simple black clothing, and the general and his woman are dressed more elegantly in a general’s uniform and a large ball gown. The film features over-the-top facial expressions, as well as simpler features, such as the calm face of the woman in the film. There are scenes of comedic acting from that of the clergyman, as well as the face of a horrific man, as well as more “realistic” behaviour from the general and his lady. The film truly embodies the nonsensical and perplexing order of scenes that is the trademark of French Surrealist cinema.
“It's a film of pure images. The Seashell and the Clergyman does not tell a story but develops a series of mental states, which are deduced from each other as thought is from thought.”
Works Cited
Information/ Photos:
Bordwell, David. Film Art: An Introduction. 10.th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. 472-476. Print.
"French Impressionism: 1918-1929." CineCollage. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
"Surrealist Cinema?" CineCollage. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
Hood, Nathanael. "La Coquille Et Le Clergyman (The Seashell and the Clergyman)." Forgotten Classics of Yesteryear. 26 May 2010. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
Videos:
"La Coquille Et Le Clergyman 1926, Germaine Dulac)." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
"La Souriante Madame Beudet - 1923 English Subtitles." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
"La Dixième Symphonie/The Tenth Symphony (1918 Film by A. Gance) (French/English)." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.