Surrealist Cinema, A Revolutionary Movement

The definition of ‘revolution’ in World English Dictionary is ‘a far-reaching and dras

tic change, especially in ideas, methods, etc’. There is no doubt that every new m
ovement in cinema history came along with something new. In other words, they ch
anged what had already existed to some extent. However, not every movement can b
e titled a revolution. It should overset the core of any former cinema style and
raise a totally new belief and also has a great impact on films that come later
. Surrealist cinema met these standards and was revolutionary in many ways.
Films can reflect how the world is like of the time in the form of cameraing rea
l life or opposing it. Surrealist cinema fell into the latter category. World Wa
r I left the values that slaughter was ‘the highest achievement of European cultur
e’ (Rudolf Kuenzli, 1996) which is seriously doubted by many artists and writers t
hen. In an act of rejection of the values after war, Dada and Surrealism were gi
ven birth to. They shared one objective but used different method to achieve it.
Dada promoted anarchism and focused on criticizing the culture in which moral w
as ruined that consented to the war. However, what accomplishes a revolution is
not only the awareness on what is improper but the creation of a new idea. The p
rincipal founder of Surrealism André Breton who was once a Dadaist realized that t
heir rejection is useless and tried to lead a new road and had done it successfu
lly. In the First Manifesto of Surrealism (1924), Breton coined Surrealism as ‘bas
ed on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglecte
d associations, in the omnipotence of dreams, in the disinterested play of thoug
ht’. This movement infused new blood in the film history both in form and content.
The Surrealist cinema emerged in 1920s, when films were still quite young, film
industry employees were still exploring this new area. Cinemas grew with intermi
ttent new inventions on making and showing films. The first batches of movies we
re simply records of real life without personal ideas and guide. Later, narrativ
e stories were included which later used montage to work. Directors’ emotions grad
ually emerged in movies. It seems that a format of cinema had formed. However, t
he breakout of World War I ruined most of the film industry in Europe in economi
c terms. American film took charge of the world cinema industry financially and
in form. This, however, gave European filmmakers a chance to conduct experiments
on cinema. Surrealism movement was in the wave and had a far-reaching impact. R
egardless of the narrative tradition, it abandoned the elements that can tell a
story by getting rid of making meaning in traditional methods, even tried not to
make any meaning at all. The first Surrealist movie The Seashell and the Clergy
man made by Germaine Dulac was a good example for this aspect. The boundary betw
een reality, dreams, and obsession was unclear in the film. Though all the scene
s are around the main character, there isn’t a logical plot. Each spectator can ma
ke up a story of his own. Cinema thus becomes a medium like paintings, music and
literature which inspire people to think. Each Surrealist film can draw infinit
e results. In this way, cinema had its own aesthetic values.
Also, psychology began to play a part in film making since Surrealist cinema whi
ch makes Surrealism movement a revolution. Though German Expressionism cinema al
so focused on emotions, Surrealists paid more attention to the spectators rather
than the directors and actors. Influenced by Freud’s theories, Surrealists put th
e audience on a passive position and forced them to stand in an unconscious stat
e. Because, as Freud reckoned, the unconscious ‘includes all the things that are n
ot easily available to awareness, including many things that have their origins
there, such as our drives or instincts, and things that are put there because we
can t bear to look at them, such as the memories and emotions associated with t
rauma’( Dr. George Boeree, 2000). Also, Freud’s idea that ‘sexual desire’ is ‘the primary
motivational energy of human life’ lies in several representative Surrealist films
such as The Seashell and the Clergyman (Germaine Dulac, 1928), L Age d’or (Luis B
uñuel, 1930) and Un Chien andalou(Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, 1929). Surrealists te
nded to use juxtaposition of unrelated images to create an illogical and dreamli
ke world. But unlike German Expressionists who create dream scenes by distorting
scenery background, Surrealists struck a chord in the audience with representin
g scenes and objects in real life using techniques such as superimposition, diss
olves, montage, and slow motion. Dreams are a series of illogical combination of
 what the dreamer has met in the real world which in return reflect the dreamer’s
demand or mood in subconscious. Though Surrealist cinemas are not so understanda
ble, they are more natural than Expressionist ones. They don’t push the audience t
o follow, just set an example for people how to break the restriction of their m
inds.
Films preceded Surrealist cinema had a tacit rule. No matter to entertain or to
propagandize, they should try to make the audience like to see them. But Surreal
ists don’t care much about this. Their works can arouse annoyance, obscurity and e
ven anger. The first sequence of Un Chien andalou shows a man slicing the eye of
a woman. The scene is so intrusive and just appears when the spectators are rel
axed and defenseless. The more we watch the film, the more we feel that it is ju
st a dream. We fear along with it, try to make sense and, at the same time, comf
ort ourselves that this is just a dream. Any interpretation will reflect the vie
wer’s inner mind. As what is said in one of the provisional titles of the film, ‘it
is dangerous to lean inside’, the inside is the unconscious world. Conversely, the
audience of the film can find out what’s in his mind by examining the way he expl
ain it. Surrealist cinemas are not enjoyable to see, but interesting to explore.
Surrealist cinema’s trait of revolution also found expression in its rebellion tow
ard bourgeois. In this rebellion, nearly all aspects of bourgeois were attacked
to some extent, including their religion, morality and family. They depict typic
al bourgeois figures which is especially obvious in L’Age d’or. The marble statue wh
ich always represents something holy is fellated by a woman. Even Jesus Christ i
s put as a murderer. Though being banned at last, Surrealists successfully trigg
ered a heated debate around the society with some certain scene that could be un
derstood. People began to think about the issues they put up. In this sense, Sur
realist cinema is not only influential in film history.
In the Surrealism movement, cinema was only one type of the art forms. It contai
ned only a few works. However, the revolutionary of it was a milestone in film h
istory. Though not so often used in later movies, the way it narrates and organi
zes sequences could be seen in later cinema. Most of the time, the techniques ar
e inherited by psychological films. They can also be used in certain scenes that
reflect figures’ emotion. Another point is that, Surrealism as a spirit still enc
ourage artists to pursue their own belief and use their specific art form to exp
ress common people’s will. They potentially reject the commercial purpose of cinem
a. This idea also advocates the occurrence of non-stream films which focus more
on aesthetic value of film. Surrealist cinema was also the origin of Experimenta
l cinema and Underground cinema.
Conclusion:
Every movement in film history talks about breaking the convention and bringing
in new thoughts. Surrealist cinema which was born in a post-war context, focused
more on social issues, this in return reflected on the way Surrealists made fil
ms. The purpose of their works is to approve mad love and unconscious mind witho
ut limitation, also, to rebel against the bourgeois. This purpose resulted in th
e uniqueness of Surrealist cinema both in form and content. Juxtaposition, super
imposition, dissolves, montage, and slow motion were tags of Surrealist films. T
hey were used to create an unconscious world where Surrealists think lie the ins
tinctive emotions. Surrealist cinema took advantages of psychological impact on
the audience. The works don’t put entertainment the first place, they provoke even
infuriate. These uniqueness made Surrealist cinema quite influential and left a
great impact on cinema after them.
Surrealist cinema was a milestone in film history. Its techniques of film making
and aesthetic values were a great fortune it left behind for film makers later.
Surrealist cinema was also a foreshadowing of some later movements. The spirit
to create, rebel and explore gave chance to the emergence of works apart from co
mmercial films and other art forms.
Bibliography:
André Breton, 1924. Manifesto of Surrealism. [online] Available at< http://www.tcf
.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340/SurManifesto/ManifestoOfSurrealism.htm>
Dr. George Boeree, 2000. Freud and Psychoanalysis. [online] Available at< http:/
/webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/psychoanalysis.html>
MiraCosta College,2001. Film: Avant-Garde.[online] Available at <http://www.mira
costa.cc.ca.us/home/gfloren/f-avant.htm>
Rudolf, K.,1996. Dada and Surrealist Film. In. Elizabeth, E. ed., 2004. European
Cinema. United States: Oxford University Press.
Wikipedia, 2010. The Seashell and the Clergyman. [online] Available at<http://en
.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seashell_and_the_Clergyman>