The Contemporary Meanings of Cinéma Pur

(10th Annual Conference: Presentation)

Abstract

The movement of avant-garde films reached its summit in the 1920’s and, as is well known, it greatly contributed to the cinema’s independence as an artistic genre. Among various attempts in this movements, we can appreciate especially some French works, generally called cinéma pur, whose avant-garde spirit is, in my opinion, still worth looking back; a cinéma pur is characteristic in its attempt to make up an original “other” world, being full of visionary scenes and unnatural events, although it structuraly utilizes ordinary images that are reproductions of “our” world.

However, the view that esteems exclusively a cinéma pur’s optical procedures and skillful cuttings is hardly agreeable for me. As unconventional procedures and tricks are generally followed by other film makers and, as a result, transformed into a cliché, the true value of cinéma pur should be defined quite otherwise. The most important point is, in my estimation, those pioneers’ creative will – what Hans Richter calls “the uninhibited use of creative energy” – which is reflected in their serious struggles for original expressions.

As the optical technology has exceedingly developed, we are now in the days when the idea of “technique for technique’s sake” is apt to be dominant. Therefore it shall not be wasteful for us to recall those pioneers’ works and their “creative energy” to our mind.