I found this week’s reading, ‘The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice’ by David Bordwell, to be extremely interesting. I have always had mixed feelings when it comes to art cinema and experimental film. On one hand, I often find myself thinking ‘what the fuck is going on here?’ Films of this kind are always packed full of confusing characters, twisting plots, and seemingly thematic red herrings. However, on the other hand, I can see the beauty in this type of cinema when viewing it through a purely artistic lens.

I like to think of typical cinema as classical art, you look at the painting and know what is being depicted, the story behind it, and what lesson the artist is trying to convey. For art cinema, it can be seen as modern art. From just a splash of paint on a canvas to an artist sitting still for 24 hours, modern art comes in many forms, but the overall purpose behind it remains covered in ambiguity and forces the viewer to look inside themselves for the meaning. Bordwell brings a compelling argument on the true purpose and categorization of art cinema with the two main principles being realism and authorial expressivity. As he says, art film permits characters to express and explain psychological states and forces the viewer to seek the etiology of their feelings. Rather than being told the exact steps, the viewer is forced to come to their own beliefs on what is occurring and the main themes of the film. I really loved the quote, “We watch less for the tale than the telling, life lacks the neatness of art and this art knows it.” I think this can be easily relating to viewing of modern art: it is not the story but the process, emotions, and mindfulness that went into the artwork that give it meaning. Art film and modern art are meant to be confusing and disorienting, because, if it was familiar and easily understood the true meaning would be lost. The beauty of this form is in the internal journey and coming to the understanding that there is no set way to interpret the art because the journey will be different for everyone.

Art cinema emphasizes the emotions and psychological journey of the characters and viewers rather than the story told. Leos Carax sums this motivation up well in the second reading. When asked where the inspiration for motorization came from he simply responded, ‘There’s never any initial idea or intention behind a film, but rather a couple of images and feelings that I splice together.’ Just like art, experimental film is made through the subconscious beliefs of the director and is meant to be interpreted through the subconscious of the viewer in whatever form that may take.