Annotation
Surrealism and Eastern and Central European Cinema 2013
Instructor: Richard Capes
Email: ceno_bite@yahoo.com
Description
What is the relationship between surrealism and cinema? How has this relationship changed since the surrealist movement first emerged in the early 1920s? And what makes a particular film or film maker surrealist? These are some of the key questions explored in Surrealism and Eastern and Central European Cinema, a course that aims to chart the history of surrealist film making, with a focus on surrealist films produced in Eastern and central Europe from the mid-1960s to the present day. Students will develop an in-depth understanding of key concepts related to surrealism, which they will use to analyse and evaluate a variety of surrealist films, such as Juraj Herz's The Cremator (1969), Andrei Tarkovsky's The Mirror (1975), Jan Švankmajer's Alice (1988), and Béla Tarr's Werckmeister Harmonies (2000). In addition, they will also examine the influence of central and Eastern European surrealist films on filmmakers from outside the region, such as David Lynch (Blue Velvet [1986]) and the Quay brothers (Institute Benjumenta [1995]).
Course Goals
to enable students to evaluate the formal, aesthetic and philosophical aims of surrealist filmmakers
to enable students to use key concepts from surrealism to analyse film texts
to explore the development of surrealist filmmaking in central and Eastern Europe
to examine the influence of central and Eastern European surrealist films on film makers from outside the region
Primary Reading
'What is Surrealism?' by André Breton
'First Surrealist Manifesto' by André Breton
'Second Surrealist Manifesto' by André Breton
'Alice's Adventure in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll
Secondary Reading
'The Unsilvered Screen: Surrealism on Film' by Graeme Harper
'Surrealism and Cinema' by Michael Richardson
'Dada and Surrealist Film' by Rudolf E Kuenzli
'Dada and Surrealism: A Very Short Introduction' by David Hopkins
'Manifestoes of Surrealism' by André Breton
'Surrealism: The Road to the Absolute' by Balakian
'The Czechoslovak New Wave' by Peter Hames
'The Cinema of Jan Svankmajer: Dark Alchemy', edited by Peter Hames
'The Interpretation of Dreams' by Sigmund Freud
Classroom Procedures
I expect my students to:
attend all of the seminars and screenings
participate in all seminar discussions
arrive on time for both film screenings and seminars
have their mobile phones turned off during film screenings and seminars
Assignments and Grading Policy
Participation 10 %
Presentation (15 minutes in length) 40 %
Final Paper (2,500 - 3,000 words in length) 50 %
Attendance
Regular and punctual class attendance is mandatory for all students. Absence of 180 minutes is allowed.
Weekly Schedule
Week 1
What is Surrealism? An Introduction.
This seminar will focus on the meaning, orgin, ideas, and aims of surrealism. Students will be encouraged to study several of Breton's surrealist manifestoes, explore the differences between Dada and surrealism, recognise the importance of Freud's theories regarding the unconscious on the surrealist movement's ideas, and analyse two surrealist film classics, both of which were made close to the start of the movement's development: Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali's Un Chien Andalou (1929, FR) and Jean Vigo's Zero for Conduct (1933, FR).
Films:
Un Chien Andalou (1929, Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali, 21 minutes)
Zero for Conduct (1933, Jean Vigo, 41 minutes)
Required readings:
'First Surrealist Manifesto' by André Breton
'Second Surrealist Manifesto' by André Breton
'What is Surrealism?' by André Breton
Week 1
Surrealism and Feminism: 'Valerie and Her Week of Wonders' (1970, CZ)
This seminar will focus on Jaromil Jireš's Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970). Students will be asked to analyse and evaluate the film and discuss many of the same questions they discussed when they studied Daisies. They will also be asked to discuss whether the film is a successful adapation of the book it is based on, as well as consider the historical circumstances that enabled films such as Valerie and Daisies to be made.
Films:
Jaromil Jireš's Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)
Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves (1984) - may show excerpts from
Required readings:
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1932) by Vítězslav Nezval
Essay on the pornographic imagination by Bohuslav Brouk, founding member of the Surrealist Group of Czechoslovakia (Essay available in Edition 69 [1931], Twisted Spoon Press, 2004)
Week 2
Surrealism and Feminism 2: 'A Real Young Girl' (1976, FR)
The focus of this seminar will be on French film maker Catherine Breillat's A Real Young Girl (1976). Students will be asked to compare and contrast the film with both Daisies and Valerie and Her Week of Wonders in order to establish whether or not all three feminist-surrealist films share the same formal, aesthetic and philosophical aims. Students will also be asked to read Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventure in Wonderland , a popular books with surrealists (as we shall see in the next seminar), and discuss how A Real Young Girl uses elements of the book in the development of its story.
Films:
Catherine Breillat's A Real Young Girl (1976)
Required readings:
An essay on A Real Young Girl by Lauren Kaminsky: http://www.reverseshot.com/article/real_young_girl
Alice's Adventure in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Week 3
The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer: 'Alice'(1988, CZ)
The focus of this seminar will be on the work of Jan Svankmajer, in particular his feature-length film Alice (1988). Students will be asked to compare and contrast his surrealist films with other surrealist films they have seen, in order to establish their similarities and differences. Moreover, they will be asked to: (1) identify the key themes and distinguishable stylistic features of Svankmajer's work; (2) discuss the similarities and differences between Svankmajer's Alice and Lewis Carroll's; and (3) interpret Svankmajer's Alice within its historical context.
Films:
Jan Svankmajer's Alice (1988)
A selection of Jan Svankmajer's shorts
Required readings:
Selected interviews with and essays on Svankmajer's films, provided by the course tutor
Week 4
The Prague Spring and Surrealism: 'The Cremator' (1969, CZ)
In this seminar, students will be asked to analyse and evaluate Juraj Herz's The Cremator (1969) as a surrealist text and also interpret the film within its historical context.
Films:
Juraj Herz's The Cremator (1969)
Jiří Menzel's Larks on A String (1969) - may show excerpts from in the seminar, or screen in full outsdie of the seminar if possible
Required readings:
The chapters on the film in Peter Hames' The Czechoslovak New Wave
Brian Hoyle on The Cremator: http://sensesofcinema.com/2007/cteq/cremator/
Week 5
Back to Bunuel: 'Belle De Jour' (1967, FR)
In this seminar, we will return to the work of the surrealist film maker Luis Bunuel, focusing on his classic surrealist film Belle de Jour. Students will consider what makes this film a surrealist film, and whether or not this is the best 'genre' of film to situate it within. They will also be asked to compare and contrast the film with the other films they seen on the course so far in order to illuminate its similarities and differences. Moreover, students will explore what surrealist texts tell us about sex, love, and desire.
Films:
Luis Bunuel's Belle de Jour (1967)
Jan Svankmajer's Conspirators of Pleasure (1996)
Week 6
Is Tarkovksy's 'Mirror'(1975, RUS) a Surrealist Film?
When the Russian film maker Tarkovsky was once asked during an interview if his 1975 film Mirror could be considered a surrealist film, he replied that it certainly could not. In this seminar students will discuss whether or not Tarkovksy was correct in this assessement of his own work, whether the film is in fact a surrealist text. They will also consider whether or not considering the film as a work of surrealism is the best of way of understanding or interpreting the film, drawing upon the understanding and knowledge of surrealist films that they have acquired so far.
Films:
Andrei Tarkovsky's Mirror (1975)
Required readings:
Selected interviews with Tarkovsky, provided by the course tutor
Tarkovsky Talks About 'Mirror': http://skywalking.com/tarkovskyold/tmirror.html
Week 7
Polish Surrealist Film 1: Goodbye, See You Tomorrow (1960, Janusz Morgenstern, PL)
Students will be encouraged to analyse and evaluate the film as a surrealist text, comparing and contrasting it with other surrealist films they've seen, and consider the film within its historical context.
Films:
Goodbye, See You Tomorrow (1960)
Required readings:
Selected interviews and essays provided by the course tutor
Week 8
Polish Surrealist Film 2 : Mother Joan of the Angels (1961, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, PL)
Students will be encouraged to analyse and evaluate the film as a surrealist text, comparing and contrasting it with other surrealist films they've seen, and consider the film within its historical context. They will also be asked to consider, based on the two Polish surrealist films they've seen, whether or not Polish surrealist films are recognisably different from others, such as Czech surrealist films.
Films:
Mother Joan of the Angels (1961)
Selected animated shorts by Walerian Borowczyk
Required readings:
Selected interviews and essays, provided by the course tutor
Week 9
Hungarian Surrealist Film 1: 'Elektra, My Love' (1974, HU)
This seminar will focus on Hungarian film maker Miklós Jancsó's Elektra, My Love (1974). Students will consider whether or not this film can be classified as a surrealist film and what classifyin