Surrealist Influences in Contemporary Cinema

In the years after the end of the Second World War, the surrealist influences in the world of cinema continued to shape the development of the medium. The importance of men such as Ado Kyrou, Robert Benayoun and Gerard Legrand cannot be understated, with their establishment of the journal L’age du cinema demonstrating the renewed interest in surrealist cinema that came with the renewal of interest in the medium. A number of surrealist-inspired films developed throughout the late 40s, with works such as Georges Franju’s Le Sang des Betes (1949) and Jaques Prevert’s Aubervilliers (1946) drawing heavily from themes that were developed in the 30s, in this case the journal Documents (1929). This resurgence of interest in surrealist-inspired film came at a time of rejuvenation for European cinema, with many directors looking at motifs broached by the surrealists for motifs to incorporate in film.

This trend did not continue, however, into the 1950s, with most of the work done by surrealist filmmakers focusing mainly on the realm of critique. Men such as Kyrou and Benayoun established themselves as influential critics in French cinema, with their journal Positif playing a major role in propagating their ideas. However, this was in contrast to other movements of the time, especially with respect to the French New Wave and Hollywood productions. Nevertheless, the influences of the early Surrealists in other genres also became more apparent, for example in the context of Film Noir – popularized by Hollywood’s global dominance in the world of cinema at the time. Indeed, in ‘A Panorama of American Film Noir’, Raymond Borde argues that many traits that were inherent to surrealist film were adopted here. He notes that the works of Breton, particularly in L’anthologie de l’humour noir, provided the basis for “the reception of any art described as ‘noir’”, and continues by noting that many celebrated figures in the world of noir film, such as Marcel Duhamel, were original members of the Surrealist group. Furthermore, the usage of oneiric themes was a major surrealist aspect shared by many films of the time.
With the advent of the 1960s, the influences of Positif led to many developments that contrasted starkly established genres, such as the New Wave. Most notably, it is during this time that Luis Bunuel, who had been working as a director in Mexican cinema, was able to create notable films inspired by surrealism. This began with Viridiana (1961) and culminated with works such as Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie (1972), in which the critique of the bourgeois personality is a landmark surrealist trait. Indeed, Bunuel’s avid involvement with the surrealists is evident here, with the film reportedly containing representations from three of his recurrent dreams which were interwoven into the scenario (Baxter 1994, p 301). His work in the genre is an excellent example of the continual influence of surrealist thought on film, and the trademark surreal and shocking imagery in his films bare testament to his capacity as a surrealist filmmaker.

Finally, the signs of surrealist cinema can also be observed in the works of more modern cinematographers, most notably with the work of Jan Svankmajer. A member of the Czechoslovak Surrealist Group, Svankmajer’s work is distinct from that of other Czech Surrealists’ in that it developed purely out of the same collective dynamics that drove group activity in early surrealism. The overarching themes of his work involve the juxtaposition of animate inanimate objects, with a staunch refusal to classify the two in different categories. Indeed, through works such as Neco Z Alenky (1988), an interpretation of Lewis Carrol’s classic story, his continual transformation of the protagonist, a young girl, into an inanimate doll bears great resemblance to the interplay of life and death. More specifically, the fact that the girl transitions from being alive to being a lifeless doll multiple times shows the director’s reluctance to separate the living from the dead in his films. Svankmajer notes that his film “is a realized dream,” purposefully keeping the viewer in the dark about whether the action is happening in Alice’s room or if it’s in Wonderland.
Overall, however, little else survives of surrealism in its pure form in the world of contemporary cinema. Most of the influences of surrealist film come through their interactions with other genres, with many motifs from the surrealist aesthetic surviving to this day. Indeed, through works of filmmakers such as Nikos Nikolaidis or even David Lynch, the world of film continues to adapt and employ many techniques characteristic of and central to surrealism.

Deutsches Filminstitut. Conscious Hallucinations: Filmic Surrealism. Belleville, 2014.