Un Chien Andalou and Ballet Mécanique are by far two of the most unique films I have ever come across. It wasn’t so much the time period the films were made but the structure of how the films were put together. In the film Ballet Mécanique by Fernand Leger, besides the Halloween themed music in the background, the assortment of pictures and videos give off a weird vibe. I believe the producer intentions were to puzzle the audience and bring about such confusion. I don’t really see a clear cut plot or an emphasis on anything in particular.
Surrealism is cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for its visual artworks and writings. The aim was to “resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality”. In Un Chien Andalou by Luis Buñuel it was more of the same but indeed felt more organized and I was able to understand it clearer. Classified as a surreal film you see the beginning start with the slitting open of a woman’s eye. In my opinion this action is basically what they mention as a dream.
To what end do you think the ‘producer’s intentions’ were aimed? What implications exist? Try to dig a bit deeper in your analysis. Connect the dots, so to speak, and think about why we might be taking a look at these films and what might be so interesting about them. They’re not simply there to shock the viewer, although this is definitely an aim. But the shock is in order to do what? 2/5