Un Chien Andalou, the infamous 1929 surrealist short film from Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, attests to this. throughout the dream based film i was confused, shocked at times and found myself constantly trying to find a meaning for some of the screenplay. the part where the woman gets her eye lid cut, i found horrific and sickening; mainly because i thought for the time period it was graphic. this shot comes at the start of the film, immediately grabbing my attention. Bunuel makes a statement with this, saying that cutting/editing in movies deceives the eye and manipulates the viewer. in this film its clear that the cutting at times has no relevance to the narrative, but then it was all based on a dream. that is why the time lapses have no relevance and some off the wall shots like when it jumps from narrative with Bunuel to the rest of the film on Salvador; in a dream world you are free and time has no meaning nor does story line.
Chris Marker became known internationally for the short film La Jetée (1962). It tells of a post-nuclear war experiment in time travel by using a series of filmed photographs developed as a photomontage of varying pace, with limited narration and sound effects. i found this photo roan style film boring. this is because the images were very similar and repetitive, the story was unclear and lacking in any gripping factor and also the voice over of the man, who was purely narrating the story, had a very monotonous voice which was fairly hypnotic. i was struggling to stay awake; but as the film was again based on dreaming and a dream world, it did a good job of sending me off to one.
Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) is a work that maintains all of the mystery, tranquility, unpredictability, and personal attachment that is ever present within the world of dream. out of the other two films, i enjoyed this surreal display the most. this was down to the concepts being well represented, for instance there was alot to do about feminism as the director was a woman. also how the woman is portrayed by men and how that makes them feel. the place where the majority of the film was set was was the kitchen, lounge and bedroom; representing all three key areas a man expects a woman to have the most purpose in. obviously things have changed now but in the 40s women were very much dictated by men, and the only way they could see themselves was through mens perception. that is why the tall black figure that is seen with the rose and in the repetitive shots represents that male figure in her life. the repetitive shots show how teadious and plain this womans life is; she has to stay at home and clean up, but you notice that the house isn't clean as theres clothes thrown around the lounge and bread out in the kitchen. this depicts the womans rebellious side, which we dont see untill the scene where there is three of the same woman sat around the table and the knife is shown in one of the woman's hands. we see the side of her that wants to escape and is quite suicidal.
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