Categorizing Films as Art Cinema, Essay Example

In The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice, David Bordwell discusses the concept of art cinema as “a distinct mode of film practice”. He distinguishes this mode of cinema from other films by discussing the specific characteristics that they have that set them aside from regular cinematic pieces. Ultimately, since these pieces are said to derive from creations by silent film schools prior to World War II, even modern art cinema pieces have many similarities, which is evident based on the evolutionary history of this particular art form.

One of the most striking characteristics that made art cinema unique was the goal of its particular appeal. Especially for those that were produced after 1954, art cinema was intended to reach an international audience, which was provided as a way for film to compete with the television, which had been newly established. Therefore, rather than simply appealing to local ideas and concepts, the themes of these pieces became more universal and relatable to ensure that there would be a higher degree of ticket sales in theaters.

The universal appeal of art cinema can be demonstrated by providing an explanation of Wild Strawberries and A Taste of Honey. Wild Strawberries was a Swedish film produced in 1957, just three years following the release of the television set. While the film follows one individual by the name of Doctor Jubilaris, who has a series of misfortunes and demonstrates that despite these, he is generally able to be content about life. This film discusses the struggles that are shared by humanity in general, and we are able to relate to the problems that the characters are having despite their differing nationality. There were no references in the film that were unique Swedish that may make an American viewer seem like an outsider, so it is important to emphasize that Wild Strawberries fits in with this particular characteristic of art cinema.

A Taste of Honey fits within the art cinema category for the same reason as well. This 1961 film follows a young girl by the name of Jo and her relationship with her alcoholic mother. Generally, the film discuss her mother’s reactions to many of the diverse men she meets, which is all with disapproval. However, Jo believes that people should be treated equality independently of their sexuality and race, which is a theme that this movie attempts to promote. The film also demonstrates many of the issues that young reckless girls have, which is exemplified by the fact that Jo ended up pregnant by Jimmy and was forced to figure out how to take care of herself. This piece was revolutionary because the film discusses many topics that weren’t seen to be socially acceptable for films during the 1960s. In fact, even on television, women weren’t shown pregnant at this time because this was generally seen to be inappropriate. However, the “inappropriateness” of the film for this time period is certainly what made it so universal. Just because television and film do not typically discuss alcoholism and unintended pregnancies does not mean that these problems do not exist. Therefore, the film appealed to a wide audience by discussing some of the problems that filmmakers typically ignore.

David Bordwell also claims that a primary distinguishing factor of art cinema is “realism, authorship, and ambiguity”. In Wild Strawberries and A Taste of Honey, the ambiguity factor is the most noticeable trait. While one could properly say what both of these stories are about, and possibly explain how these would relate to their own lives, it is evident that the individual who wrote the pieces did not want to go into specific detail in order to keep the details of the story unknown. This contributes to the artistic value, as many art enthusiasts wish to make certain assumptions about the meaning of the piece for themselves, allowing them to gain a greater understanding it in terms of their own thoughts. This concept ties into the universality of these two films. Since no significant details are provided, the viewer is able to interpret the pieces in terms of their own problems, which allows them to connect with these art forms to a greater extent. In Wild Strawberries and A Taste of Honey, we are told about the vague aspects of the doctor’s and of Jo’s life. While we know the summarized version of what happened to them, we are able to assume emotions and feelings for them at various points. This is truly what makes these pieces art.

Bordwell also claims that authorship is a significant contribution to the development of art cinema. In this sense, the pieces that were produced in art cinema are reminiscent of modern art. Modern artwork often does not have very many details and may make used of a small amount of colors that leads the viewer to think to him or herself, “I don’t get it” or “Why did the creator do this in the first place?”. Such is also the purpose of art cinema, although the creator of these films wish for their audience to think about the pieces until they are truly able to understand them. This is primarily the case because many of these stories can be personal, and thought to be made for the same reasons that painters paint. Art cinema is a means by which artists believe they can best express themselves and ideas. In the case of both Wild Strawberries and A Taste of Honey, it is somewhat challenging to determine if this were the case for the creators of the films, since not much is known about them. However, as lovers of art, we know that they were inspired to create these particular works for some purpose. It is possible that these artists saw themselves in the positions of their characters in the future, and wrote these tales to explain what their lives may be like. It is also possible that they knew or heard of individuals who went through these same experiences and wished to provide their story to warn other people of the possibilities of these situations. Ultimately however, both stories wished to get out a message stating that it is important to understand the emotional characteristics of others and that we should make these emotions our own in order to truly understand them.

The last aspect of art cinema, which ties into the universality of it, is the reality aspect. It is important to consider that these films only depict situations that can occur in real life, and that it least fantastical stories for other genres. Ultimately, then, one can argue that the artistic factors come into play when considering the art that lies in average everyday life. While the situations that occurred in Wild Strawberries and A Taste of Honey will certainly not occur to everyone because not everyone is a research doctor and not everyone has an alcoholic mother, we are all aware of the problems that are likely to come with age and bad parenting. Individuals who are given no support by their parents are more likely to become the individuals who become pregnant outside of marriage, which makes their lives more difficult. Furthermore we all know that as we age, things will change in our lives that will upset us; even if this is not happening to us now, we may see it happening. We may also know individuals who became pregnant early, and understand how their lives are different from what they would have been if this did not happen.

In conclusion, it is evident that the films Wild Strawberries and A Taste of Honey can be used to exemplify art cinema. As Bordwell discussed, art cinema films are those who have elements of universality, realism, authorship, and ambiguity. These films are universal because the stories they tell can apply to a wide range of age audiences in an international setting. Furthermore, they produce realistic stories that we are all able to connect with and understand in terms of our own lives. The authorship is pronounced and it is clear that these artists made these pieces because of how these situations impact them emotionally. Lastly, these stories are ambiguous and force us to apply our own understanding of emotion to understand these situations.

References

A Taste of Honey. (1961). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_LPdk3vj8E&list=PLE2193C0A6E74F846&index=1

Bordwell D. (n.d.). The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice. Retrieved from http://academic.uprm.edu/mleonard/theorydocs/readings/Bordwell.pdf

Murray, Edward (1978). Ten Film Classics: A Re-viewing. F. Ungar Publishing Co.

Wild Strawberries. (1957). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFsU0QA7-M4