FILM 1: DALI

 

FILM 1: DALI 

Surrealist films, especially ones inspired by Salvador Dalí, can be really hard to watch because they don’t follow the typical story structure we’re used to. This can make the viewer feel uncomfortable or thrown off. One way this happens is through weird or exaggerated costumes—like oversized clothes or outfits that don’t match—making things feel even more unreal. For example, in Un Chien Andalou, the woman’s outfit in the eye-slicing scene is nothing special, but the fact that something so violent is happening in such an ordinary setting makes it even more shocking. Dalí’s own style in his films and interviews is also super dramatic and strange—like when he says, “The only difference between a madman and I is that I am not mad or was expereincing symtoms to show signs of madness versus were the artist expressed theses signs based on visual portraits such as the example below .” That kind of statement blurs the line between what’s real and what’s just performance, making the viewer question what’s normal. Surrealist films also have bizarre character interactions. In The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, the characters keep trying to have a meal but always get interrupted, which makes everything feel disjointed and kind of annoying, in a purposeful way. This kind of confusion shows up in narration too. In The Fall, the narrator mixes fantasy with reality so much that it’s hard to tell what’s actually going on, and that messiness makes the audience think harder about what they’re watching. Art and visuals play a big role too. Dalí’s paintings, like The Great Masturbator, are super distorted and weird, and that style often shows up in these films, making the imagery feel both disturbing and thought-provoking. Even the settings—like the landscapes and buildings—don’t make sense. In The Holy Mountain, the locations are bizarre and almost impossible, adding to the feeling that nothing in the film is grounded in reality. All of these things together can make surrealist films feel uncomfortable and confusing, but that’s kind of the point. They challenge how we see the world, beauty, and meaning—and while that can be unsettling, it also makes them more interesting and thought-provoking.