1928 surrealist drama
Rating: 17/20
Plot: A dreamy love triangle between a clergyman, a general, and a seashell.
Surrealist cinema from Germaine Dulac from a script by Antonin Artaud that predates An Andalusian Dog by a year. There's a clear narrative and a character torn to pieces by temptation and desire, but the movie's paced like a dream with imagery that won't make much sense outside of the subconscious. The movie's often beautiful, filled with scenes utilizing camera trickery and wacky special effects. It's a must-see if you're into this sort of thing.
Artaud didn't like this movie as much as I did.
My favorite thing about it might be the way Alex Allin, who plays the clergyman, runs.
Oh, and there are boobs in this one. As I think I've mentioned before, I love seeing breasts in silent movies.
As a bonus, I saw Fernand Leger's avant-garde Ballet Mecanique from 1924 based on the recommendation of a friend. Wild stuff, that one, with a score that could drive people mad. Everybody in the room with me while I watched The Seashell and the Clergyman were upset with the music in that one. It was a modern thing. I'm not sure the original had a score at all.
Ballet Mecanique was as hypnotic as The Seashell and the Clergyman although they are two different forms of hypnotism. The former hits you with a barrage of imagery and leaves you little time to put things together. The latter moves as slowly as a dream that you can't get out of and puts you under this kind of quiet spell.
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