Artsy Movies

[Guest Karnage]

What are some good Non-Hollywood artsy films?

The only movie I've seen that fits in this genre is Run Lola Run.

[Guest Ravenbomb]

Ran was good

[Guest Shaved Bear]

Requiem for a Dream wasn't exactly artsy, but it is my favorite indy movie

[Guest razazteca]

Cinema Paradismo is one of Roger Eberts favorite movies, its about a kid who works in a movie theater in a small town.

[Guest BifEverchad]

Big Top Pee-Wee was the SHIT!

 

[Guest LaParkaMarka]

Run Lola Run kicked ass.

 

If you want to see a real artsy movie, find a copy of Velasquez's Little Museum. Or somethign. I think I messed up the name. Anyways, very very cool flick. I loved how the actors really interacted with Velasquez's paintings.

[Guest Vagabond]

Would Waking life count? I don't think it was an indie film but it only played in art house theatres. At least around here. That movie is really great.

[Guest Hitman Jebus]

My favorite artsy/indy movie is Hate ("Haine" in its original French)

 

Just a beautiful and smart movie

 

I suggest anybody try to find it and watch it

 

9.5/10

[Guest C.H.U.D.]

The Sweet Hereafter

 

Once Were Warriors

 

Empire of the Sun

[Guest evenflowDDT]

Requiem for a Dream wasn't exactly artsy, but it is my favorite indy movie

How is Requiem for a Dream NOT an art film? It has a beautiful score, non-mainstream direction and cinematography, and has a weak central plot. To me, that's art (OK, not the weak central plot part, since lots of art films have strong plots ).

 

I consider that and director Darren Aronofsky's other film Pi art films. I'd also consider Wes Anderson's Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums art films, though, so maybe I need to watch more foreign films and blow my savings on more Criterion discs...

[Guest godthedog]

wow...i think i was born to reply to this topic.

 

here we go:

 

'scenes from a marriage'

'cries and whispers'

'personna'

'the 400 blows'

'jules and jim'

'viridiana'

'belle du jour'

'the exterminating angel'

'un chien andalou' (only 15 minutes long but HIGHLY recommended--very inventive, perverse & artsy)

'chimes at midnight'

'the trial'

'ran'

'the seven samurai' (not exactly artsy, but black & white with subtitles, so you can still feel smart)

'repulsion'

'the gleaners and i'

'red'

'blue'

'eraserhead'

'aguirre, the wrath of god'

'germany, pale mother'

 

i'd be remiss if i didn't mention 2 hugely important artsy movies, 'the seventh seal' and 'breathless'. the former i don't really care for, but it's so famous it has to be mentioned. the latter i FUCKING HATE, but everyone else seems to think it's one of the greatest movies ever made, so you might like it.

 

also: picking random films may not necessarily be the best way to jump into the indie/foreign/art scene. i'd go by directors, & just see where that takes me. orson welles and francois truffaut are 2 of the most accessible ones. and i hope you live in a big city or a college town, cause otherwise videos like these are hard to find.

 

i think 'requiem' looks a little too slick to be an art film. also, there's nothing really unconventional about the story or the characters. aside from the mind-blowing photography, it's your basic anti-drug 'drugstore cowboy', 'trainspotting'-type movie.

[Guest ArkhamGlobe]

I second godthedog's recommendation to not just pick random films but to go by directors instead.

 

I also agree that most of Francois Truffaut's films are very good to start with, as it is definitely art house cinema, but it's also rather accessible, as it might not be the best of ideas to start with stuff like the films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, as they are most definitely a very aquired taste. Personally I haven't really gotten into Fassbinder, but I've got some films of his on tape that I need to see first. I am a big fan of what I've seen of Jean-Luc Godard's work though, but Godard is one of those directors who's work you'll either love or hate (or so my experience tells me). I'd give it a shot though. His early work is supposedly more accesible though.

 

Where was I? Oh yeah, Truffaut is a good start, I'd also recommend another french new wave director (my favourite out of the bunch) in Claude Chabrol. Another would be early Roman Polanski (like Repulsion, Cul de Sac, possibly even his adaption of MacBeth). I suppose Akira Kurosawa counts as an art house director, and his work I would most definitely recommend (examples being Rashomon, Stray Dog, the Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Kagemusha and Ran).

 

A personal favourite of mine is Werner Herzog, though, like Godard, his films are admittedly not for everyone's taste. If you're interested though, I'd recommend Aguirre - the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo.

 

That's all off the top of my head. Some other directors that I haven't really gotten into (as I haven't really seen enough, or in certain cases any, of their films) that are generally highly thought of are:

 

Federico Fellini (only seen Amarcord, though it was excellent)

Andrej Tarkovskij

Ingmar Bergman (only seen the Virgin Spring, which was excellent. I'm really ashamed that I've only seen one of his films as I am swedish much like him)

Luis Bunuel

Wim Wenders

Vittorio di Sica

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Jacques Rivette

Eric Rohmer

Krzystzof Kieslowski

Jean Renoir

Jean-Pierre Melville

Alain Resnais

Louis Malle

Robert Bresson

 

I think that's enough for now...

[Guest Dmann2000]

I have for you all the artiest movie any of you could ever see.

 

Last Year at Marianbad

[Guest godthedog]

I have for you all the artiest movie any of you could ever see.

 

Last Year at Marianbad

i'm familiar with 'marienbad', but...salvador dali co-produced 'un chien andalou', and he's a damn artist. you can't get any more artsy than that.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

I have for you all the artiest movie any of you could ever see.

 

Last Year at Marianbad

i'm familiar with 'marienbad', but...salvador dali co-produced 'un chien andalou', and he's a damn artist. you can't get any more artsy than that.

Is that the one with the (in)famous eyeball shot? Also, I guess you're right about Requiem for a Dream, but I always thought of an art film as something that had at least one aspect (in this case, the photography) that was very unique in regards to mainstream cinema. Maybe I get "art film" mixed up with "indie film", although not all "indie films" are unique... what does anyone else think on that behalf, is there a difference between "art film" and "indie film", and if so, what is it?

[Guest godthedog]

Is that the one with the (in)famous eyeball shot? Also, I guess you're right about Requiem for a Dream, but I always thought of an art film as something that had at least one aspect (in this case, the photography) that was very unique in regards to mainstream cinema. Maybe I get "art film" mixed up with "indie film", although not all "indie films" are unique... what does anyone else think on that behalf, is there a difference between "art film" and "indie film", and if so, what is it?

 

yup, that's the one.

 

tough question. i can define an indie film for you: low-budget, often independently-financed film employing stories, characters or topics not normally associated with mainstream cinema. i can also name plenty of indie films that AREN'T art films: 'clerks', 'boys don't cry', 'blood simple', 'chan is missing', et al.

 

but i can't think of a proper definition for art film, i just know it when i see it. they tend to be sparse on dialogue and have lots of pregnant pauses, but that's just a tendency, not a rule. i'll have to think about it.

[Guest LaParkaMarka]

I have for you all the artiest movie any of you could ever see.

 

Last Year at Marianbad

i'm familiar with 'marienbad', but...salvador dali co-produced 'un chien andalou', and he's a damn artist. you can't get any more artsy than that.

I also heartily heartily recommend "Un Chien Andalou". That little flick was GREAT. If you're actually into artsy stuff, take a intro level art history class at your University/College. You'll probably get to watch Un Chien Andalou, you'll probably learn about my favorite composer (John Cage), and have the opportunity to hit on cute artsy chicks. And there are many. You'll also get to cover some shitty stuff (like Donna "I'm Insane" Haraway) but them's the breaks.

[Guest Anorak]

I've not seen it myself but one of the 'artiest' films of recent years was supposed to be a french picture called L'Humanite (sp?). I'm sure it was released in the past couple of years because I remember there was a huge debate in the highbrow film press with various esteemed critics debating whether it was a complete masterpiece or infuriating hokum.

 

A recent British film called 'Last Resort' (might be 2001) is worth checking out as well, in fact there's loads of British cinema worth checking out, especially a lot of the much older stuff.

 

Hitman Jebus' suggestion of 'La Haine' is a good choice for an example of modern European cinema which is arty but accessible.

 

As for everything else I think godthedog and Arkam Globe have covered a really good range.