Masters of European Formalist Cinema: Art Films from Buñuel to Bergman

・ Luis Buñuel ( Spanish/Mexican) ・ Ingmar Bergman ( Sweden) ・ Federico Fellini ( Italy) ・ Michelangelo Antonioni ( Italy) ・ Robert Bresson ( France) ・ Jacques Tati ( France)

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel - friend of Salvatore Dali and Federico Garcia Lorca Founded film club in Madrid and wrote film reviews Entered film producing circles in Paris and made his first film Un Chien Andalou in 1928 Film of instinct, Freudian and Surrealistic

Luis Buñuel’s Surrealism Left Spain after fighting in the Spanish Civil War. Found difficult to get work in US, he settled in Mexico. Returning to Europe after the war, he made a series of films attacking the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie and the church. The Discreet Charm of Bourgeoisie (1972)The Discreet Charm of Bourgeoisie

Luis Buñuel’s Surrealism Written by Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière, and directed by Buñuel, the film is a satire about a group of bourgeois friends trying to have dinners together. Surrealistic images; Surrealistic incidents (episodes) Story within story; dream within dream

Luis Buñuel’s Surrealism Dream (surrealistic) elements - satire of bourgeois manners, concerns, pretensions, preoccupations and hypocrisy. One lunch is postponed as the host and hostess have a sex outdoors - not because they cannot control their urge but because by suppressing it they admit they have it.

Luis Buñuel’s Surrealism In one failed dinner party, the group of middle class diners are seen on stage but one of them, Henri, is unable to memorize his lines. (Freudian psychoanalytic) Fear of humiliation in front of the public.

Luis Buñuel’s Surrealism In one dream, the South American ambassador of a fictional country shoots his host for insulting his country. He does so, not because the insult is untrue, but you do not say such things in public. Bourgeois pretension and keeping-up appearances Absurdity of pride, public manners, and etiquette

Federico Fellini Fellini - the most original film director with the most distinctive film style. Helped inaugurate Neorealismo as a screenwriter but developed his own distinctive cinema style a director.

Dreams in Federico Fellini Recurring motifs and themes Circus, festivals, music halls, parades, marches Clowns, angelic figures, holy fools

Dreams in Federico Fellini Whores, nurturing mother figures, large women

Dreams in Federico Fellini Childhood and young adulthood memories and recollections

Dreams in Federico Fellini Mesmerizing images since his childhood

Dreams in Federico Fellini Empty seashores, desolate roads, deserted town squares at night

Dreams in Federico Fellini Characters at their most bizarre

Dreams in Federico Fellini Hallucinatory or dreamlike imagery Jungian realization that ‘extra-sensory’ perceptions are the psychic manifestation of the unconscious Oneiric

8 1/2 8 1/2 (1963)

Images and Imagination of Fellini Dolce Vita (1960) a work which marks the beginning of Fellini’s later film style. A journalist’s search for love and happiness in a new period of sexual liberation. Strong images derive from free imagination

Images and Imagination of Fellini Bold compositions created by low-key lighting Expressively erotic images which were not allowed in conventional film making. Physical and sensuous: appeals to libidul sensitivity of the audience

Magic of Ingmar Bergman Bergman’s films are noted for the bleak depiction of human vulnerability, loneliness and torment. Several stages of Bergman’s directorial career. Psychological tension, religious anguish, sexual guilt, and other spiritual torment are presented through oneiric and magical images.

Ingmar Bergman Wild Strawberries (1957) - meditation of old age and the regret and guilt of adolescenceWild Strawberries

Ingmar Bergman Study of narcissistic but confused and alienated characters Persona (1966)Persona