Art film
An art film, also known as an art house film, is a motion picture created primarily for artistic expression rather than commercial success. These films often prioritize aesthetic qualities and emotional engagement over mass appeal and profitability, making them distinct from mainstream cinema. Emerging as a significant genre after World War II, art films present serious narratives that encourage viewers to engage deeply with high culture and complex themes. Typically showcased at film festivals and specialized theaters called art houses, they cater to niche audiences who appreciate unconventional storytelling and innovative filmmaking techniques.
Art films can encompass a variety of genres, including drama, romance, and science fiction, and often tackle mature subjects, offering audiences a fresh perspective on life and human experiences. Prominent directors like Orson Welles and Vittorio De Sica have contributed to the genre through their innovative approaches, using experimental techniques such as unique camera angles and nonlinear narratives. As these films gained recognition, they highlighted global cinema's diversity and provided an alternative to the commercialized offerings of the Hollywood studio system. Art films continue to evolve, appealing to viewers seeking a more intellectually stimulating cinematic experience.
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Art film
An art film is a motion picture that is made for artistic purposes outside of mainstream filmmaking. Art films emphasize aesthetic over profit.
Art films grew in stature after World War II (1939–1945) as an alternative to mass culture. They are serious and intelligent films that promote high culture and emotional engagement. The genre uses experimental techniques to tell stories outside the norm.
Art films are geared toward a limited audience. They are often shown at film festivals and specialty theaters called art houses.
Some of the genre's best-known films are The Bicycle Thief, A Clockwork Orange, and Mulholland Drive.
Overview
Art films are also called art house films and art house cinema. They are typically associated with independent films, which are made, distributed, and released through companies outside of big movie studios. Art films are produced around the world. They can be dramas, mysteries, romances, science fiction, and more.
Art films tackle mature and adult themes, eliciting empathy for their characters. They attempt to give audiences a better understanding of life, often focusing on little-known parts of the world and deeply personal stories. Directors use avant-garde, or experimental, filmmaking techniques, such as unique camera angles or unconventional narrative structures.
The genre is tailored for niche audiences who consider themselves separate from ordinary moviegoers. The intimate nature of art films appeals to viewers seeking a more intellectual film-going experience.
Art films have existed since the beginning of motion pictures in the late nineteenth century. German director F.W. Murnau saw film as an artistic medium, playing with shadows in his 1922 atmospheric horror Nosferatu and experimenting with a moving camera in the 1927 romantic drama Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. American director Orson Welles used deep-focus photography, creative camera angles, and a nonlinear narrative form in his groundbreaking 1941 masterpiece Citizen Kane, considered one of the greatest films of all time.
The genre came into its own in the post–World War II landscape. The studio system controlled films and churned out slick, commercialized movies. As audiences' tastes changed, moviegoers yearned for more thoughtful fare. Art films sprang up as an alternative to mainstream Hollywood, embracing a modernist approach as filmmakers sought new forms of expression.
The rise of global cinema brought attention to art films. Films seeking an international audience were exhibited at film festivals and art houses. These venues catered to audiences by providing an exclusive environment in which moviegoers could watch films, affording them a sense of status.
There are thousands of art films. The genre has developed throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
After World War II, 1948's innovative The Bicycle Thief by Italian director Vittorio De Sica followed non-actors through the streets of Rome. The art film shined a light on the city's working class by following a laborer's desperate search for his stolen bicycle.
In 1971, American director Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange broke through as a hyper-stylized futuristic crime film. The influential movie uses unsettling imagery and extreme violence to comment on the state of society.
Director Quentin Tarantino is known for his unique style and art house films. His 1994 cult classic film Pulp Fiction, which blends crime with philosophical discussion, brought Tarantino to the forefront of Hollywood and won him an Oscar for best screenplay.
American director David Lynch's 2001 neo-noir drama Mulholland Drive twists its narrative structure, crafting a classic amnesiac tale within an unorthodox framework.
Art films allow directors to exploit film as an art form, appealing to audiences who want more out of their movies.
Bibliography
"Art Cinema." The Routledge Companion to Film History, edited by William Guynn, Routledge, 2010.
"The Bicycle Thief." Turner Classic Movies, www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/68597/The-Bicycle-Thief/articles.html. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
Blakeney, Katherine. "F.W. Murnau, His Films, and Their Influence on German Expressionism." Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse, www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/371/fw-murnau-his-films-and-their-influence-on-german-expressionism. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
"Citizen Kane (1941)." British Film Institute, www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a7a801b/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
Ebert, Roger. "The Best Art Films of 2010." RogerEbert.com, 17 Feb. 2011, www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/the-best-art-films-of-2010/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
Frey, Mattias. Extreme Cinema: The Transgressive Rhetoric of Today's Art Film Culture. Rutgers UP, 2016.
Krug, Kurt Anthony. “The Artistic Impact of ‘Pulp Fiction’ Felt 30 Years Later.” E Current, 5 Sept. 2024, www.ecurrent.com/film/the-artistic-impact-of-pulp-fiction-is-still-felt-30-years-later/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
Queenan, Joe. "Joe Queenan's Guide to Arthouse Cliches." Guardian, 20 Oct. 2010, www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/20/arthouse-cinema-cliche-breathless. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
"Top 10 Arthouse Movies." Guardian, 21 Oct. 2013, www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/oct/21/top-10-arthouse-movies/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
Wilinsky, Barbara. Sure Seaters: The Emergence of Art House Cinema. U of Minnesota P, 2001.