Surreal Film Program continues...

UNDER THE SPELL Continues

Continuing this week, Cinematheque Ontario presents a special program entitled
UNDER THE SPELL: SURREALISM AND THE CINEMA FILM SELECTION

The majority of the surreal films shown this week are silent and experimental – so patrons are advised to go with an open mind.

LA COQUILLE ET LE CLERGYMAN (France 1927) ***
Directed by Germain Dulac

Dulac’s film, considered by many to be the first surrealistic film was rejected by its writer, Antonin Artaud and the surrealists when it first appeared.  A confusing film, almost impossible to comprehend, if it was meant to be, contains images that transform into another with fading landscapes and other bright distorted and replicated visions.  What does make sense are shots of a clergyman or his hallucinations of lust for a general’s wife.  All this is hard to take, especially when one is at present familiar with all the camera trickery of the past.
(Screening Saturday May 30, 9 pm at the Cinematheque Ontario, Jackman Hall)

EMAK-BAKIA (France 1926) **
Directed by Man Ray

Watchable only because of its short length, EMAK-BAKIA (short for LEAVE ME ALONE in Basque) contains several unrelated surreal dreamlike vignettes.  A few appear linked by repetitive motion of rotating parts. In the midst of this 16-minute short is the appearance of a man dressing himself in women’s clothing.  This man is Jacques Rigout who shot himself before reaching the age of 30.  The short is divided into 2 parts with the title THE REASON FOR EXTRAVAGANCE dividing the two.
(Screening Friday June 5th 7 pm at the Cinematheque Ontario, Jackman Hall)
Also screening with the above are three other shorts by Man Ray including “Le Retour de Mer”.

ENTR’ACTE (France 1924) ***
Directed by Rene Clair

This 22- minute short is one of the first films by Master Rene Claire (LE MILLION, A NOUS LA LIBERTE).  Light in vein, with several slapstick segments that include an extended chase, a person rising from a coffin able to make people disappear and a cannon shot right out at the audience, ENTR’ACTE is surrealistic comedy.  Though some of the images are difficult to make out, due to age of the print, Claire’s series of vignettes are still interesting and judging from their similarity, have definitely influenced filmmakers of today.
(Screening Tuesdat June 2nd 7 pm at the Cinematheque Ontario, Jackman Hall)

POUR VOS YEUX BEAUX (Belgium 1928) ***
Directed by Henri Stocrk

Unreal in the real world is how best to describe customers purchasing glass eyeballs.  This 8-minute short shows several segments of men and eyes and men and eyeballs.  Bizarre without being nasty!
(Screening Saturday May 30th, 9 pm, at the Cinematheque Ontario, Jackman Hall)

TARI, ROI DE LE L’EAU (France 1931) ***
Directed by Jean Vigo

This very amusing short, goes by different names like the above title which translates to Tari, King of the Water.  But the film opens with a more appropriate title LE NATATION PAR JEAN TARI (Swimming by Jean Tari).  Tari is the French champion Olympic swimmer.  Vigo’s strange dream-like looking film that is basically an instruction film on how to swim effectively contains many fast forwards and backwards as well as lot of ‘figure-swimming’ by the hero.  TARI, looking very fit and gay prances around, water-style.  No wonder Cinematheque Ontario programmed this short with jean Cocteau’s ***censored***-erotic BLOOD OF A POET.  Tari lost one olympic meet by a hand, and hence the image of a hand accompanying the film.
(Screening Friday 29th May 8.45 pm at the Cinematheque Ontario, Jackman Hall)