Friday, January 4, 2013

Avante-Garde: Experimental Silent Cinema Of The 1920s and '30s - Written By Zach Frances

Are you into films that are a little on the weird side? Alright! What about films that are just downright ludicrous? Well, if you are, then Avante-Garde cinema is right for you!

I have selected a few of my favorites as recommendations. If you are well versed on the finer points of Avante-Garde and Surrealism in cinema, then my recommendations should provide some interesting insight. If you are a beginner, this can maybe point you in the right direction.

Starting off with an early favorite of mine:

Robert Florey and Slavko Vorkapich are responsible for this little ditty. If you are new to the Avante-Garde style, I would highly recommend that you watch this film first seeing as how the narrative is relatively easy to follow. Yes. This is one of those rare Avante-Garde films that actually follows a semi-coherent and surprisingly straight-forward story. Not only is 9413 moderately accessible, but it is really a brilliant piece of work.

9413 is an incredibly well done film, and a deeply personal experience on behalf of the spectator. The imagery and symbolism used in the film are not very hard concepts to grasp, making it a wonderful entry-point for those who are new to the cinematic style. It is a wonderful gateway into the world of the Avante-Garde.

Did you enjoy 9413? Ready for the next one? Well. Try Man Ray's 1929 wonderful little film titled THE MYSTERIES OF THE CHATEAU OF DICE.

 The Chateau Of Dice is simply an incredible experience from beginning to end.  The film opens with a title card that reads: 'A Roll Of The Dice Will Never Abolish Chance', a sentiment that is repeated both visually and lyrically throughout the entirety of Man Ray's twenty minute expedition into the heart of phantoms. 

The Chateau Of Dice opens on a mannequin hand wielding a pair of dice. As if to symbolize humanity's wooden-hollow grasp on chance and assumes that fate considers all living things to be inanimate objects. We cannot stop fate. It is revealed that a faceless couple is rolling the dice in order to decide first if they will leave the house that day and secondly where. The dice answers the duo and they leave, driving out into the open and vast world. The camera work may seem to become less and less consistent on their lengthy drive, but this is all part of the point. The camera gets shakier and shakier the further the duo descend into the unkown. Meaning, our vision loses sight of itself once we alter our own path and seek out the unexpected. In fact the spectator is moving faster than the characters are seeing as how we arrive at the Chateau at least fifteen minutes before the characters ever do. 

Since the audience got there early, we look around at all the strange sculptures and the remarkably twisted architecture that make up the Chateau. We are reminded of a strange destiny that brought us here. One thing is wrong. After a while the spectator realizes he is all alone, and there is nothing he or she can do about it. We begin to ask ourselves questions like "Where Are We"? as our equilibrium descends into a spinning blur of confusion, occasionally fixing itself, but ultimately losing sight of the question. Day and night become interchangeable, the sun sets, the night leaves in an instant, we are still very much alone, and that's when we start to ask the right questions. 

We finally start to wonder whether or not phantoms exist. If a physical action done in the physical world, does it leave a trace of itself?

It's morning and the spectator has found a small group of people to latch onto. They are playing with large and seemingly fuzzy dice. These are people of the more playful variety. Playing with chance. It is also very important to note that unlike the earlier duo's faces which were completley void of personality and depth, this current group's faces are not completely souless. It is still hard to make out the finer points of their facial features, they are still faceless in a sense, but nearly as much as the earlier duo were. We are reminded by a title card about using dice to abolish chance. It never happens. 

The small group of people, two women and two men, go for a swim. The women keep their faces underwater so as not to reveal their true selves. A title card flashes that reads: 'Swim Cinema'. We are shown reflections of the pool on the wall overlooking it, the shadows of the characters are swimming, and the shadow-play demonstrates quite effortlessly the truth about what Man Ray was telling to tell us about phantoms. They do exist, all you have to do is look for them.

Once the group have finished with their dip in the pool they proceed to pose for the camera doing a handful of ridiculous things and wearing some ludicrous appartus that reminds us of a beauty salon. The character's faces progressively become more well-defined. What we can gather from this slow reveal of their faces is that the more physical traces we leave on this earth, the more our identities become clearer to the public eye. The more we do the more the world knows about us, the more fate and chance knows about us, and the more the spectators know about us.

The group gets understandably tired from having an exhausting day of leaving their mark on the intrinsic universe and go to sleep. All together they literally fade away into oblivion. Were they phantoms? Was this scenario a phantasm? The Chateau Of Dice holds many mysteries.

Finally, the duo from the beginning of the film catches up with their audience and arrives at the Chateau. They find a pair of dice in the grass, and give it a roll to see whether or not they shall remain there or not. The dice answer, they shall remain. They scale the roof and freeze like living statues. Or how Man Ray would like us to see them, they freeze in place like physical prints of themselves. Their essence remains. And that is all the world sees of us. It is also a clever observation on movie-going. When an audience sees a film, they are forced to believe that that the scenario in which they are watching play out is happening in real time right there in fron of them, when in actuality it is a the documentation of the physical remains of a group of creative pull participating in an activity. Well, aren't films real? Do they not have life? Are there not living and breathing emotions trapped inside each and every frame? I'm sure they are. With The Mysteries Of The Chateau Of Dice Man Ray asked us, 'Do Phantoms Exist'? And he taught me that not only do they exist, but everything I do in this world adds to the ongoing haunting that is human activity. A wonderful film, and one of my favorite pieces of Avante-Garde cinema.

Next we have the lovely 1928 splash by Hans Richter: GHOSTS BEFORE BREAKFAST

Ghosts Before Breakfast opens with a title card that reads: The Nazis Destroyed The Sound Version Of This Film as 'Degenerate Art'. It Shows That Even Objects Revolt Against Regimentation'. After that the films spits us out into 9 whole minutes of twisted symbolism, dazzling photography, and startling ideas. One of the very first images we see is that of young man putting on a bow tie. The bow tie rebels against him, refusing to be tied down. So much so, that the necktie actually unties itself and flies away from the young man, in a beautifully flowing sequence of stop-motion trick photography.

If Ghosts Before Breakfast is constant in one basic idea, its the idea of breaking free and splitting apart. Which is something all of the objects do, except for the objects that symbolize something violent. Violence is the only real thing that sticks with its own kind and never splits apart from its destined route. The imagery is downright overwhelming at times, but slows down for moments at a time to show us the same four hats avoiding capture from fervent young men aching to catch them. The hats, at this point, represent the idea of rebellion. You can never trap it, catch it, or stop it. Rebellion, like Violence, is an unstoppable force of nature.

The actions in the world of Ghosts Before Breakfast seems to be orchestrated by an omnipotent clock. You can't stop time. Time is the ruler of all. We shown a bulls eye being split apart, not by a bullet, but by the very lines that define it. When a  man's goal is blurred, his aim becomes twisted.

Then Breakfast is served, and those rebellious little bowler hats fly up to the table. A quartet of ghosts appear, the hats belong to them. The hats latch on to their masters, and their masters enjoy their breakfast.

I recommend Ghosts before Breakfast to all fans of the Avante-Garde, and at 9 minutes, it really isn't asking all that much of you, granted you are interested.

And the last film I have selected is a little known Surrealist gem from Orson Welles and William Vance called THE HEARTS OF AGE.

The Hearts Of age is an altogether wholly entertaining experience. As a viewer you're not sure whether what you are being shown are pf the visionary variety or if its all just a meaningless exercise on behalf of Orson Welles. The Hearts Of Age was made in 1934 when Welles was only nineteen years old, which makes The Hearts Of Age the debut film from the legendary Orson Welles. And it is quite a sight to behold.

The Hearts Of Age is a film I like to revisit every so often as it is truly an entertaining film. The images are loosely tied together, but are still set up in an otherwise coherent pattern. I find The Hearts Of Age to be a very important film in Welles' stunning catalog of directorial efforts. It is very interesting to see the man, the myth, the legend do something that is so far removed from what you would normally associate yourself. If nothing else, The Hearts Of Age is a refreshing and joyful experience, and another notable film from the cinema of the Avante-Garde.

Well then.

I hope you enjoy some of the films I have selected. Avante-Garde is an acquired taste, it is a whole new language of film, and at first it can be very difficult to decipher and communicate with. But once you do, you will be granted access to some of the most interesting and enduring films ever made. Once again, I hope you enjoy these films and thanks for reading.

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