Art House Films

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I really like arthouse films both out of an emotional and intellectual stimulation. More often than not they are playing with the technical aspect of cinema. The narrative isn't always that clear cut, so you can often dive into the same movie and discover new things. Some of my favorite movies ill often have an urge to revisit it, just after that i have seen it. Sometimes because i don't fully understand it.

I love artistic films but i also enjoy more conventional films which are mostly plot driven. For instance on a danish forum they disregard Hitchcock completely because he is too conventional. I really love seeing good plotdriven films of the likes of Francis Ford Coppola and Hitchcock.

I've always seen the movies of Carl Theodor Dreyer. His basically canonized here in Denmark. But the real venture into art house movies was when i saw Caché by Michael Haneke, Werckmeister Harmonies by Bela Tarr and The Mirror by Andrei Tarkovsky. Before that i was really in love with horror movies, but also slightly surrelist horror movies like Santa Sangre, Un Chien Andalou, Videodrome and Eraserhead. Werner Herzog with Stroszek, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Nosferatu and Even Dwarfs Started Small have also been an influence on me.

Im not quite sure what you are into but i would try some different directors, namely those i have already mentioned. But you could also venture into the territory of Jim Jarmusch or for instance Ingmar Bergman.

Of newer discoveries i think Kiarostami, Lopushansky, Hou and Satayit Ray are the most important for me.
I finally got a copy of Tarkovsky's The Mirror, it seems to be considered a favourite by most art house lovers here, so looking forward to watching it. It will also be my first Tarkovsky film, so not quite sure what to expect. I've been warned not to start with The Mirror, as it's supposed to be quite complex... but screw it, I'm diving in at the deep end, head first!

I liked Werckmeister Harmonies, need to watch that again soon. I also have Satantango ready to be watched, but not sure when I'll get around to that marathon of a film. Will probably watch it in chunks.

As for Bergman, I've only Persona so far, but plan on checking out Fanny & Alexander in prep for the 80s list. For those who've seen it, would you recommend the five hour cut over the theatrical? If so, that's another I'll probably be chunking.

And Jarmusch, yeah, I've been meaning to get more into his films for years now. Don't know why it's taking me so long to be honest. This is something I need to remedy.
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I really enjoyed Mr Nobody Isnt that Art House but no one has seen it



I love seeing art-house/indie/foreign films and try to make it to one once per week at one of our local venues. For a suggestion - try out (if you can find it) Me and Orson Welles - made in the Island of Man (!!) - about a high school kid (Zac Ephron) who lands a bit part in Welles' production of Julius Caesar in the Mercury theater, 1938, New York. Predictably, it's a great adventure for him, he meets a girl, falls in love, etc, but what's great is Christian McKay playing Welles. He completely nails the bombastic, arrogant, hyper-intelligent, larger-than-life Orson. I have heard this film called the best-ever movie about being IN the theater. It's fairly light fare, but completely enjoyable. It was out a few years ago, but is on DVD and sometimes in Red Box and Netflix.



I finally got a copy of Tarkovsky's The Mirror, it seems to be considered a favourite by most art house lovers here, so looking forward to watching it. It will also be my first Tarkovsky film, so not quite sure what to expect. I've been warned not to start with The Mirror, as it's supposed to be quite complex... but screw it, I'm diving in at the deep end, head first!
I tried that with Eraserhead being my second Lynch film years ago, and it took me until I joined this site to give him another shot. I would suggest Ivan's children personally, but hope you like it anyways. Just remember, Tarkovsky has other more linear features.



I can't really make a difference, but the latest years I guess I have been more into arthouse, partly because my source for getting movies changed, and therefore my choices did as well.

Since there is not an actual provable difference, there isn't either a preference in general terms for me. I enjoy both types about equally, they hold the same chance to be worthy experiences.

Similar thing goes with purely experimental stuff. I enjoyed Decasia, La Jetée or Wavelength as much as I disliked 13 lakes, Gerry or some Andy Warhol shorts.



I tried that with Eraserhead being my second Lynch film years ago, and it took me until I joined this site to give him another shot. I would suggest Ivan's children personally, but hope you like it anyways. Just remember, Tarkovsky has other more linear features.
Well I already watched The Mirror last week, and then watched Stalker a few days later. I liked them both, even though I totally wasn't prepared for The Mirror. I was actually planning on starting with Ivan's Childhood, but I'm too impatient I guess, I had to see what all the fuss was about with his two most talked about films on MoFo. I'm going to watch Solaris next, just managed to get a copy on Blu-ray.

I haven't seen Eraserhead yet but I plan on watching that soon as well. I've seen plenty of Lynch already though so I kinda know what I'm in for... I think.



Well I already watched The Mirror last week, and then watched Stalker a few days later. I liked them both, even though I totally wasn't prepared for The Mirror. I was actually planning on starting with Ivan's Childhood, but I'm too impatient I guess, I had to see what all the fuss was about with his two most talked about films on MoFo. I'm going to watch Solaris next, just managed to get a copy on Blu-ray.

I haven't seen Eraserhead yet but I plan on watching that soon as well. I've seen plenty of Lynch already though so I kinda know what I'm in for... I think.
Well I am glad you liked Stalker. Hopefully you will enjoy Eraserhead as well.



The Mirror was my first Tarkovsky too (and so far the only one), and although it made me go "wut", it hasn't really stuck with me. I still think it's very good. Hopefully I'll like Stalker and Solaris a lot more.



I consider West Side Story as an excellent example of an arthouse film, because the intensely brilliant Bernstein musical score, richly-colored costumes and photography, and the beautifully-choreographed dancing, as well as the cinematic technology and the very story behind West Side Story the dynamic package that it is and qualifies it for an art film.
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Pure art is a myth in general. Applying it to only one person in cinema is not only arbitrary but meaningless.
I don't use the term arthouse film for "pure art". I used it for movies not driven by plot. Like the mirror. while fanny and alexander is driven by plot.



I don't use the term arthouse film for "pure art". I used it for movies not driven by plot. Like the mirror. while fanny and alexander is driven by plot.
No plot? Heaven help me!

I would agree that there's no pure art, but even so-called art movies can and generally do have a plot. Like a lot of things, it's hard to define, but you know it when you see it. When I go to a suburban cineplex, don the 3D glasses and get ready for a superhero, that's not an art house. When I go to one of our theaters that are frequented by artists, students and "film lovers" who have just come from a small plate dinner, it's more likely to be "Art". The FX quotient is low, the actors are not celebrities and heavy action is minimal.



Gangster Rap is Shakespeare for the Future
No plot? Heaven help me!

I would agree that there's no pure art, but even so-called art movies can and generally do have a plot. Like a lot of things, it's hard to define, but you know it when you see it.
Yeah, Guap tends to have a pretty limited view of these things because he watches for the most part popular films, and the art films he does watch tend towards the medium extremes like Tarkovsky. Though there are art films with no plot to speak of, or no plot of importance (I'm not sure where Apichatpong Weerasethakul fits in here), film is still generally a narrative medium which applies to art film and mainstream film (not that the two are inseparable) alike.
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