Art films (or art-house films) is a style of film that takes elements and techniques coming from visual art and places them within a film 'lens'. They're known for being introspective and experimental; commonly using symbolic clips and footage in order to send a message. It's important to note that art films can encompass a wide range of genres, from thrillers to romance and dramas.
For the creator of these films, the goal is not to portray a piece that can be understandable or palatable amongst all audiences. The artistic vision and perspective of the creator is the most fundamental component of art films; the author's expression is what drives and arthouse film forward. As stated by Wonderful Cinema, "The narrative is often in the social realism style with a focus on the characters' contemplation of their existence or immediate concerns".
The birth of arthouse films started right with the birth of film as a whole. Ever since movie cameras were invented many directors were already pushing the conventions of story-telling with them. Surrealist artists such as Salvador Dali greatly pushed the usage of experimentation within the film world, and it really took off around Europe during the 1920s-40s (the stereotype of unusual French noir films is a direct result of the art film boom from this era). They sharply fell out of popularity around the 40s and 50s when the United States started to become the global standard for what film should look like, swapping out experimentation for a traditional method of storytelling.
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| The film Intolerance (1916) is considered to be one of the first art films. |
Because they are very experimental and do not adhere to the conventions found in most films, many big-name production companies often steer away from making arthouse films. Instead, they are often produced independently/distributed (although there are some companies that do distribute them). Many arthouse films are often distributed and screened in film festivals since they have a very niche audience.
However, I would like to note since postmodernism in the media has challenged creators to shift away from the traditional framework/plot of movies, arthouse films and its elements are starting to become much more popular amongst a broader audience. Some great examples of popular films that can be grouped under the arthouse film style would be Moonlight (2016) or Parasite (2019).
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| Key art for the film Moonlight (2016) |
In terms of storytelling, art films are not always told sequentially. Sometimes the story is told in chapters, a mismatched order, or even told in reverse. Whatever the reason may be, an art film's story is told in the way the director feels it can be told best, and this usually means chronological order doesn't always cut it. Almost all arthouse films abandon (or very loosely follow) the traditional movie plot structure.
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| Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) is a good example of an arthouse film told in reverse. |
After my research I think making my project follow the style of an arthouse film would work best for me. It'll give me flexibility to represent the stages of grief in the manner I would like them to. Who knows? Maybe I'll change up the stages a little bit if I find that works better for me. :) I already know that my film will most definitely be a drama, and since I researched and worked a lot on it last year I already feel pretty well-versed in the genre and its conventions. I already made a post on the basics of the drama genre a while back, if you would like you view it you can click on the link below:
https://kpgportfolio.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-inner-workings-of-drama-genre-study.html
I think I have enough research in order for me to start planning; I can already feel the gears in my head turning! If I feel that I need to do a bit more research expect to see another post, but if not then it's all going to be planning posts from here. I'll keep you guys posted!
Sources for art film research:
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/art-house
https://wonderfulcinema.com/art-house-definition/
https://www.arthousefilmfestival.com/ahff/
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