#surrealist cinema

[fashionlandscapeblog]

The Holy Mountain (1973) - dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky

[artfilmaesthetics]

100 ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰɪʟᴍꜱ

56/100 — lost highway | 1997

dir. david lynch ✦

[eaktionsshaytan]

Maya Deren

[cigarrw-s]

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970) dir. Jaromil Jireš

[emgod666]

my edit, audio here.

[filmnita-applebum]

Vertigo (1958)

[thechimerasdiary]

reviews | absurd cinema | biopic | comic

𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠

An artist biopic unlike anything you have ever seen

.·:*¨༺ __________________

Judith (Anaïs Demoustier) trying to conduct an interview with Salvador Dalí (Gilles Lellouche) on the beach.

How many Dalís is one too many? You might ask yourself this while watching Quentin Dupieux’s latest work. Daaaaaalí! (2023) is, as the screaming title already suggests, a film about the Spanish artist – but not like you have ever seen before. In the opening scene, mustache-twirling and cane-bearing Dalí (Gilles Lellouche) strides down a hotel corridor. Only for Dalí (Édouard Baer) to walk its length once more. And then, who would have guessed, Dalí (Jonathan Cohen) does it all over again. In this comic prelude, the ever-body-changing character is late for an interview but never seems to arrive at his destination as the distance of the hallway stretches into infinity.

Daaaaaalí! is full of such amusing instances. Dupieux’s film depicts a young pharmacist-turned-journalist, Judith (Anaïs Demoustier), who attempts to start off her new career path by meeting one of the biggest artist names of the 20th century. What begins as a simple interview with the surrealist ends up being a headlong plunge into his whimsical world. Judith soon realizes that Dalí has his own ideas about her project. And while the interview turns into a documentary film that never gets off the ground, reality is turned upside down. Characters wake up from dreams that never end, dead dogs rain down from a cloudless sky, and gun-slinging cowboys terrorize art auctions. 

Sounds a little absurd? Well, that’s exactly the point. The film successfully manages to break out of the never-ending stream of solemn self-assertive biopics by being less concerned with an accurate portrayal of reality and more with crafting a tone that honors the ethos of the historical figure. What makes the work so cleverly charming is that Dupieux has encapsulated the bygone spirit of Surrealism in contemporary form. Daaaaaalí! is a delicious accumulation of absurdity, much like the movement itself. 

Two of Dalí’s models posing for the artist’s painting.

In an early scene in the film, a highly-focused Dalí is seen sitting in the midst of a desolate landscape. With close precision, he is applying brush strokes to his easel. “Sir! Can we take a break?” comes a shout off-screen. The camera whips around to reveal a baffling setting. The two men acting as the painter’s models possess strangely disfigured proportions, one of them propping up his grotesquely elongated head with a wooden pitchfork. The scene pays a delightful homage to Dalí’s 1932 The Fine and Average Invisible Harp by transforming his vision into cinematic reality. And even beyond such clear referentialities, the film’s visual themes closely evoke the artist’s comically-constructed compositions. Dupieux has reached deep into Dalí’s palette, painting a Surrealist masterpiece of his own.

Daaaaaalí! certainly is a testimonial to the persistence of the bizarre. At the same time, the film works so well because it does not try to infuse the scenes with a layer of sober significance. It departs from a purely rational treatment of the narrative it creates. Instead, the events on-screen rely on ridiculousness. The audience is expected to laugh, to get lost in the endless comedic repetitions and the silly oddities of the characters. When Dalí is involved nothing makes sense, nor does it have to. Consequently, watching the film is a lot like contemplating one of the painter’s works: initially confusing, undoubtedly absurd, yet highly entertaining for eyes and mind.

With that, Dupieux's work tells more about Surrealist ideas than many previous documentaries out there could. Daaaaaalí! has manifested itself as a monument to the movement, a rollercoaster of funkiness and madness that the painter himself would have certainly appreciated.

Judith (Anaïs Demoustier) wearing the Dalí mustache.

__________________ ༻¨*:·.

[cristation]

The Hourglass Sanitorium  (1973)

[a-pint-of-j-and-b]

Three Crowns of the Sailor (Les Trois Couronnes du Matelot) | Raúl Ruiz | 1983 | France

[philrayart]

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970) poster.

Posters, stickers, apparel, etc... available!

Links in bio 🖤

[fashionlandscapeblog]

Stalker (1979) - dir. Andrei Tarkovsky

[artfilmaesthetics]

a collection of surrealist films 🌀

✧ ‘Fantastic Planet’ (1973) dir. René Laloux

✧ ‘Mirror’ (1975) dir. Andrei Tarkovsky

✧ ‘House’ (1977) dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi

✧ ‘Belladonna of Sadness’ (1973) dir. Eiichi Yamamoto

✧ ‘Daisies’ (1966) dir. Vêra Chytilová

✧ ‘Lost Highway’ (1997) dir. David Lynch

➞ note: surrealist cinema involves shocking or absurd imagery to challenge the idea of reality, and often depicts characters in unrealistic situations or even dream-like states

[schlock-luster-video]

On August 26, 1983 Monty Python's The Meaning of Life debuted in Norway.

[esqueletosgays]

VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS (1970)

Director: Jaromil Jireš Cinematography: Jan Čuřík

[filmnita-applebum]

The Color of Pomegranates (1969)

[niggamag]

The Blood Of Jesus (1941)- Dir. Spencer Williams

In the rich history of low budget Black cinema, there are a few rare gems that I feel every Black person should see in their lifetime. Among them is "The Blood of Jesus" (1941), a groundbreaking film directed by the multi-talented Spencer Williams. This film lays the groundwork for Black indie films with its ghastly folk aesthetic, non linear storytelling and angelic imagery. "The Blood of Jesus" remains an essential cinematic experience even after more than eight decades.

Now why THIS film?

"The Blood of Jesus" holds a special place in the annals of Black cinema as one of the first feature-length films to be produced and directed by a Black filmmaker. This milestone not only paved the way for future filmmakers but also provided a platform for authentic representation and storytelling.

The storyline is the classic “in between heaven and hell” trope and it is executed in such a stylistically sound way that it kept me glued to the screen. It reminded me surrealism and Dadaism which was huge in white cinema and literature at the time. This is early Afrosurrealism, dare I say. We see masterful interaction with atmospheric lighting, symbolic dream sequences, and breathtaking slow dissolves. It has lots of non-linear storytelling which is seen in many different Black indie films, especially from the 90s and it was fun making this connection.

Here’s a brief synopsis:

The film tells the story of a young woman named Martha, played by Cathryn Caviness, who is accidentally shot by her husband, Razz Jackson, portrayed by Spencer Williams himself. As Martha lies between life and death, her soul is caught in a cosmic struggle between the forces of good and evil. The narrative takes the viewers on a spiritual journey, as Martha's soul encounters various characters, symbolizing the temptations and choices she must confront. The film skillfully weaves together elements of Christianity and African American spirituality, highlighting the interconnectedness of faith and culture.

Written by your favorite Black film head, welcome to Nigga Mag.

-M