Art Films Which Drive People Away From Art Films

Floydoid wrote: Hrychu wrote: I've never watched a single "art" film in my life. Try starting with some of the pioneering European directors of the 60's and 70's such as Federico Fellini, Pier Paulo Pasolini, Walerian Borowczyk, and the earlier (pre-1980's) work of Tinto Brass.

Hi,

There was a film, a long time ago, that I saw, that ... kinda made this idea that Hrychu makes a real problem. The story was simple ... person was born in a ghetto, and lived his whole life in a ghetto and died in the ghetto. He did see some films, through some folk's windows and all that, but never in his life, without any schooling, ever knew what something like "art" is, or even had any idea about it. The stuff he saw off many windows could have been just television, and it didn't speak, and was, he thought, rather stupid and not interesting, even for him, who, by our standards, had no life at all.

It was a Brazilian film, and I'm not sure which one it was and who and what was involved in it.

Many folks, specially since the Surrealistic 1930's with Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel, Andre Breton, Max Ernst, and many others, did not think that it was "art" as it was a part of the same person, and the inner and outer were still the same person and thus one is one thing and the other is another. But the ideas that it created, specially the visuals in film, got our attention.

Both Bunuel and Dali, never said that the "dreaming" was an art, because it was the same person. So seeing Hrychu saying the same thing is not an issue ... but I can't help thinking that something is missing, and I don't want my comment to appear like I'm thinking that he is just being silly ... and this was a discussion I once heard at home between "intellectuals" ... that those who never had the chance, did not learn anything about people ... and the Spaniard said ... "they were animals anyway ... what would they need art for?"

I left the room quickly ... I thought that was uncool and pathetic, but it tells you how/what some folks in Brazil, even think of the ones in a ghetto, and how they are trashed ridiculed. The days of the Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish and English explorers that started 525 years ago, were still alive still saying that all the "Natives" were savages, when the real savagery actually came from elsewhere!

No "art" indeed!

Edited by moshkito - July 15 2025 at 06:40

Further to my earlier remarks, a very good place to start on European Art cinema would be Passolini's 'Life Trilogy' - The Decameron (1971), The Canterbury Tales (1972), and A Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) (1974).

Tho it must be said that the Arthouse communities argue as to what is and what isn't 'arthouse' - given that it's a broad ranging genre - about as much as we debate what is and what isn't prog/progressive rock!

Edited by Floydoid - July 15 2025 at 11:29

Fellini's works 8½ and La Dolce Vita would also be good to start with.

Edited by Floydoid - July 16 2025 at 11:13

I've never got on with Greenaway's work as I commented earlier in the discussion.

Never been a fan of Kubrick (heresy I realise), 2001 is interesting and did influence a massive raft of sci-fi but really I would be quite happy not to see it again. My nomination for most overrated film of all time is undoubtedly The Shining. Christ it's so hammy and stupid it makes me laugh when people suggest it's the most scary film they've ever seen.

^Kubrick had no regard for the wellbeing of his performers - he almost blinded Malcolm McDowell during the making of a Clockwork Orange when his eyelids were pinned back.

As you say - a complete a-hole.