AN ANDALUSIAN DOG (1929)

A.K.A.: Un Chien Andalou

Country: France

Genre(s): Art Film

Director: Luis Bunuel

Cast: Simone Mareuil / Pierre Batcheff

Plot

A series of surreal, often nightmarish, images and events happen between a man and a woman.

What I Liked

Director Luis Bunuel collaborated with the most famous surrealist artist, Salvador Dali, on the writing and conception of this disturbing film.  Much of Dali’s work is inspired by dream and is fascinated with taking universally recognized objects and warping in some way into being only faintly familiar.  “An Andalusian Dog” reflects a similar approach to the art of filmmaking.  Despite the unquestionably bizarre and seemingly juxtaposed nature of the images that Brunel brings to the screen, there is undoubtedly a linear storyline recognizable through the use of scenes familiar to moviegoers, for example something resembling a romantic happy ending on the seashore.

Dali’s artwork can also sometimes have a twisted sort of humor, which also comes across in this movie.  At times its use of the familiar imagery mentioned before can feel like parody.  This is especially the case when the scenes are divided by seemingly arbitrary notifications of a jump in time.

What I Disliked

Intellectually interesting though it may be, “An Andalusian Dog” is not particularly entertaining.  It relies primarily on shock value, strangeness, experimentation, and possibly parody.  Approaches such as this don’t always lend themselves well to multiple viewings and I don’t see why anyone other than those obsessed with Bunuel or Dali, or those in art or film class, would be interested in watching this one more than once.

Most Memorable Scene

Much of the film’s brief length features elements similar to those found in horror films.  In particular, the uncontrollable madness of it all, the everyday objects taking on threatening aspects, the combination of sexuality and violence, and the multiple scenes of viciousness against women.  Indeed the film reaches a sort of climax in the first minute or so (another hint of subversive playfulness from Bunuel and Dali?), when we watch a straight razor slice open a woman’s eyeball.  It’s is a frightfully well executed effect for 1929 and definitely has enough realism to make most anyone grit their teeth and want to look away.  Unforgettable, to say the least.

My Rating: 2 out of 5