I wanted to write about this film that we saw in one of our first classes, now that the discussion of subversive film is open.
This is a black and white surreal film of 19 minutes, which represents an exploration of the irrational state. It is meant to offend and it has shocking elements in it. This is actually Luis Buñuel first film work, and acclaimed to be one of his bests.
This surreal piece was part of the dada movement, which at the same time happens at the European Avant Garde period. Dadas and Surrealists were against WWI, the bourgeois, and rules in general, the logic and the rational, so their work was a critique and response to these.
The story behind this film is that Dalí and Buñuel once meet to eat, and they told each other about their dreams. Buñuel's dream was about a cloud slicing the moon, and Salvador's was about ants coming out of a hand; so they agreed to collaborate and make a film about those dreams, where the only rule was not to include anything that was logical or rational.
The film starts with Buñuel himself looking at the moon as in his dream, and then slicing a woman's eye infront of the camera. This image was extremely shocking considering the time period it was made. It was like "a rape of the eye" as the author Covey stated.
This film explores the subconscious; it has narrative units that can be discerned and distinguish in the film by having a tittle, front credits, and several inter titles. This film also explores themes as gender, dreams, morbid curiosity, violence, violation and love. It is a satire that makes fun and references western culture, but is meant to be agressive, mean and insulting.
Fact: About this film Buñuel said "nothing in this film symbolizes anything", but I think that that is just bullshit.
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