A Bluffer’s Guide To Intellectual Cinema, Part One

Have you ever wanted to join a discussion on intellectual movies, but can’t actually be bothered to sit through the two-and-a-half hours of boring existentialism? Do the names Fellini, Antonioni and Bergman all sound like different types of bread? Well, this article is for you. Presented are three such films nicely summarised with key points of information for you to remember, so you don’t have to watch them! Impress your friends at the next dinner party with this Bluffer’s Guide to Intellectual Cinema.

8 ½ (Federico Fellini, 1963)

This is perhaps the most accessible of the films, so you might actually want to watch this. You don’t have to, though. Semi-autobiographical, 8 ½ stars Marcello Mastroianni as Guido, a stressed film director taking time out on a health farm in order to concentrate on his next film. Guido doesn’t find much rest, however, and is constantly plagued by friends, family and work colleagues as he tries to make his mind up about what his next film should be. He grows increasingly introspective as budget deadlines loom their ugly heads, and he reflects on major events in his life that made him who he is.

Like any film worth its brain-points, 8 ½ ends with a good old song and dance.

The key thing to remember about 8 ½ is the autobiographical aspect. We are invited into Fellini’s head as he uses Guido to reflect on his own past. Guido is a very flawed man, and it is clear that Fellini is trying to use this film to ease his own conscience about certain events that happened in his life. Issues of identity and of the self are abound, so that’s handy dinner-table ammunition right there.

Religion and women are the two main things that really bother Guido. The strict rules of Catholicism almost traumatised Guido as a child, but it could be argued that this negative view of rules and structure has left him lacking integrity as an adult. With regards to women, Guido is torn between wanting to be the puppet and the puppeteer. Fantasies of Guido controlling the women around him backfire, and he ends up at the whim of every woman he encounters. So, try and filter those two hot-beds of conversation into your next intellectual discussion. By asking questions like, “Is religion female?” you are bound to be seen as one smart potato.

Like any film worth its brain-points, 8 ½ ends with a good old song and dance in which everyone holds hands and prances in a ring around a giant rocket. Gain from this anything you want. It could be a reference to that phrase “The whole world’s a stage,” or something. Who knows? You can improvise this bit.

UK/Region 2: Order this title on DVD here.

USA: Order this title here.

Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)

Stalker is really long, or it feels like that anyway, so it’s advisable not to watch this one. It takes place just outside an unidentified Russian city. Alexander Kaidanovsky plays Stalker, a man whose occupation is to illegally guide people into a heavily guarded area called The Zone – a place where mysteriously unseen extra terrestrials have suspended the laws of physics. The Stalker has been hired by a Writer (Anatoli Solonitsyn) and a Scientist (Nikolai Grinko) to take them to The Room inside The Zone. The Room is a place where it is said one’s deepest wish can come true. Each man experiences an existential crisis along the way, with the Stalker’s own profession facing a troubling revelation.

We have become so lost in our modern concrete world that organic life seems ominous.

This film is a dream for aspiring film bluffers. It has the unseen presence of aliens, Communist oppression, long-timed shots, theories about nature, three modern men lost in wilderness, and a colour transition from black-and-white into glorious colour once the three men enter The Zone. Each of these provides for fantastic talking points at the dinner table. The colour change symbolises how much life there is in The Zone compared to the dreary and drizzly modern world that surrounds it – commenting on modern times and stuff. As the men take an increasingly complicated path through The Zone, questions about man’s inability to comprehend nature are asked.

The flora and fauna of The Zone is psychologically transformed by the men. Everything looks normal, but there is some apparent force preventing them from trusting what they see. Is normal nature really that threatening, or is it the fault of the aliens? If you want to have a go at explaining the true meaning behind the aliens as nature itself: we have become so lost in our modern concrete world that organic life seems ominous and foreboding to us.

Oh, before this one concludes, make sure not to confuse Tarkovsky with Pyotr Tchaikovsky – a famous Russian composer who died ages ago. If you didn’t know about the possible confusion until it was just brought to your attention well, then, sorry.

UK/Region 2: Order this title on DVD here.

USA: Order this title here.

Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)

Persona is a dream come true for intellectual cinema bluffers, because you can honestly say anything about it and people will have to believe you. Bibi Andersson stars as Alma, a nurse who is put in charge of an actress called Elisabeth Vogler (Liv Ullmann). Elisabeth is healthy in every way, except she just won’t talk. This refusal to communicate seemingly happened after Elisabeth had a quiet mental breakdown while on stage. The hospital administration decides that Elisabeth would benefit from isolation, so the two women are moved to a quiet coastal house where Alma can keep a close eye on Elisabeth.

When someone is making an artistic or intellectual point about Persona, wait for them to finish, and then say the exact opposite.

In this desolate environment, Alma talks constantly to Elisabeth without receiving any answer. As time progresses, she reveals more and more intimate secrets while growing increasingly frustrated at the actress’ decision not to communicate. Eventually, Alma suffers a personality crisis in which she can’t separate her own identity from Elisabeth’s. Then, at the very end she, uh… who knows what the hell happens. It’s all avant garde and tremendously intelligent.

The film opens up with an abstract montage – the purpose of which seems to be about reminding you that you’re watching a film. In case you forgot. Symbolic imagery is prevalent with a depiction of a sheep being slaughtered, an erect penis and a crucifixion reference. It’s a fun-bag of metaphors, so feel free to draw any tenuous conclusion you wish, as long as it relates back to the artificial and distancing aspects of cinema.

When it comes to the Alma and Elisabeth storyline, long and carefully composed shots take up a lot of the screen time. These allow us to fully examine the characters, with particular emphasis on Alma as she transplants her personality on to Elisabeth. As the two characters slowly merge, use of split-screen and clever two-shots show the psyches of the two characters colliding. Overall, the camera largely remains objective. Close-ups are unflattering and unemotional, so a constant distance is created between the audience and the characters. It’s like we are Elisabeth – judging Alma with every move she makes and with every word she utters.

Be sure to notice the use of nature, as the coastal house acts as both a metaphor for rebirth and signalling ‘the end of the line’, in a matter of speaking. There’s also a lighthouse, somewhere, and this can be interpreted as both a warning and a message of hope for Alma. It’s a warning in that she is about to undergo a severe personal crisis, but it’s a beacon of hope in that she may come through this knowing herself better than ever before. The use of light and dark shades is also notable, as there are strong contrasts when Alma is sure of her personality and then bland greys across the board when she is having an identity crisis.

All of this sounds like a bit much to digest, so perhaps this nugget of advice may help. When someone is making an artistic or intellectual point about Persona, wait for them to finish, and then say the exact opposite. When they try to form a rebuttal, use the information they themselves provided, re-word it a little, and you will have a guaranteed winning argument, no matter what they say. It should work every time, as pretty much every metaphor in this film has two opposite meanings. Bergman, in a move of genius, has accidentally created the perfect movie for dumb people.

UK/Region 2: Order this title on DVD here.

USA: Order this title here.

There is much enlightenment to be gained from the three films encountered, but hopefully, you won’t need all of it. Each of them was revolutionary in their own way and they are all true landmarks of cinema, yet hopefully this guide means you don’t have to watch any of them. If you also couldn’t be bothered sitting through a film by Godard or Antonioni, then be sure to check out the follow-up to this article in a week or so.

Order these world cinema titles through us

For more world cinema features, click here, and remember to join the discussion with fellow foreign film fans on our facebook page.

By Conor Murray

Conor Murray is a screenwriter who has just graduated from The Northern Film
School in Leeds. A film enthusiast, Conor has previously submitted reviews for…