art cinema narration
Nous sommes envoyé des coups de la maison…il doit avoir été là un certain temps.
~ Georges, Caché (2005)
art cinema narration
!  Art cinema generally refers to low-/mid-budget films that are
crafted with a specific attention to their aesthetic qualities, in an
effort to serve as vehicles of cultural expression.
Close-ups in La passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928)
Advancing a queer perspective in Shortbus (2006)
!  These films typically address a spectrum of specialized audiences
(ethnic, political, or cultural groups), and have been a critical
outlet for marginalized groups to find and express their own
unique voices.
art cinema narration
!  World, independent, and avant-garde films are often labeled as art
cinema because of their experimentation with form, and their
departure from traditional Hollywood narrative.
Cinematography in Citizen Kane (1941)
Reflexivity in Funny Games (1997)
!  Art films are characterized by their use of abstract filmmaking
techniques (odd framings/juxtapositions, discontinuous editing
strategies, the use of asynchronous and nonsimultaneous sound),
that ultimately function to disorient the spectator, rather than situate
them within the film space.
art cinema narration
!  World, independent, and avant-garde films are often labeled as art
cinema because of their experimentation with form, and their
departure from traditional Hollywood narrative.
Multiple lines of action in Gomorra (2008)
Final sequence of Les quatre cents coups (1959)
!  Narratives will lack exposition, and are constructed with multiple
protagonists, who lack clear-cut motivation for their actions.
!  Causal connections are weakened, and the film usually lacks a
decisive climax and denouement.
art cinema narration
!  Les politique des auteur, or the auteur theory, was originally
introduced in François Truffaut’s essay "Une certaine tendance
du cinéma français” in 1954.
Dogme aesthetic in Breaking the Waves (1996) and Dancer in the Dark (2000)
!  Truffaut proposed that the director is the sole creative force in
producing a film, and that an auteur’s film reflects their unique
creative vision.
art cinema narration
!  Andrew Sarris re-introduced Truffaut’s concept in 1962 with his
essay Notes on the Auteur Theory, where he distinguishes three general
principles of the auteur theory:
Todd Solondz’s Storytelling (2001), Happiness (1998), and Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
1) The director must accomplish technical competence in his/her
technique.
2) Repetition of a personal style, in terms of the visual look and tone
of the film, must be articulated (metteur en scène).
3) An auteur is able to extrapolate interior meaning from the tension
between their own personality, and the filmed material.
art cinema narration
!  Because the auteur theory has never been discussed in specific
terms (in a manifesto or statement), it can be interpreted and
applied in multiple ways.
Fragmentation in Bresson’s A Man Escaped (1956) Ambiguous ending of No Country for Old Men (2007)
!  Ultimately, the auteur theory insists that the spectator has to
work at reading the text. Since there is no true, essential meaning
of a film, there can be no exhaustive criticism which settles its
interpretation once and for all.
art cinema narration
Trois couleurs: Bleu
Directed by
Krzysztof Kieślowski
Written by
Krzysztof Piesiewicz &
Krzysztof Kieślowski
MK2 Productions,
(1993) 98 mins.