CIN105Y: Introduction to Film Study Modercism Lecture Outline 1. the classical film nothing should be ambiguous. Topic: The Art Film formal attributes Date: 13 January 2015
2. classicism (make people easy to understand ) modernism (ironic, b½ ) „a artistic movement, thing belong to M is futurism, so it is an umbrella term; M was characterized by a stridently self-aware artistic practice and a corresponding break with two other artistic movements: realism and Romanticism (definition of M) realism: we can only trust what we can see and hear, things that actually exist. according to Gustave Courbet: the essence of realism is the negation of the ideal.

Agenda: 1) The Relationship between Art Cinema and Modernism 2) Distinguishing Art Cinema from Avant-Garde Cinema 3) Defining the Art Film as a Mode of Film Practice The Relationship between Art Cinema and Modernism

• Just as classical cinema shares attributes with a broader body of artistic works that are representative of classicism, art cinema can be understood as an example of modernism.

• While art cinema is a film-specific term, modernism is a general term describing broad tendencies within art practice that encompasses many movements that prevailed in the first half of the romanticism: in the contrast of realism; intimacy spirituality, color, twentieth century. aspiration towards the infinite, expressed by every means available to the art

• Historically, modernism constituted a break with two nineteenth century art movements: realism and romanticism. • Modernism questions art’s capacity to capture truth and abandons the goal of verisimilar representation. The result is increased self-reflexivity and formal complexity. self-reflexivity: when an art work is self-reflexive, it acknowledges its own construction.

Distinguishing Art Cinema from Avant-Garde Cinema • Both avant-garde cinema and art cinema can be classified as modernist; yet there are certain fundamental traits that distinguish them. • As opposed to avant-garde film, art film is narrative in structure, limited in its experimentation, conventional in length (i.e., feature-length), and distributed and exhibited through commercial channels. Defining the Art Film as a Mode of Film Practice • Art film is an historic phenomenon insofar as it denotes a type of film that emerged in Europe in the 1950s. • Thematically, it tends towards exploring states of alienation, isolation, ennui, uncertainty, and ambiguity. • Narratively, it is characterized by an episodic construction (i.e., a loosening of the causal chain), psychologically complex characters, an interest in subjectivity, and a refusal of closure.

• Stylistically, it distinguishes itself from classical cinema by drawing attention to its form though any number of means, including discontinuous editing, stylized compositions, and unusual camera movements. practices