What movies are you watching?

[LoathedVermin72]

Godard's Every Man for Himself. Sometimes, with how much I viciously hate the majority of contemporary arthouse cinema, it can be easy to forget just how inspirational, moving, illuminating, and profound the best arthouse films can be. Goddamn. What a movie.

Rank the most illuminating arthouse films.

1. The Color of Pomegranates

[The Argonaut]

Is labelling a film 'arthouse' basically the same thing as trag's insane film vs movie theory?

[LoathedVermin72]

Is labelling a film 'arthouse' basically the same thing as trag's insane film vs movie theory?

No. I'd argue arthouse is a genre about as aesthetically defined as any other.

[epilogue]

Is labelling a film 'arthouse' basically the same thing as trag's insane film vs movie theory?

No. I'd argue arthouse is a genre about as aesthetically defined as any other.

How would you define it, specifically?

[The Argonaut]

What makes a movie 'arthouse'? Is it a disregard for commercial concerns? Because the word arthouse means arthouse cinema means small movie theatre that plays movies that don't make a lot of money but do try to make an artistic statement. And that's exactly what trag was saying re: film v movie

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[epilogue]

I'm gonna list some films. Please tell me which (if any) are "arthouse" films:

Mulholland Drive
Garden State
The Graduate
Winter's Bone
Moonlight
La La Land
Hell or High Water
Kill Bill
Annie Hall
13 Conversations About One Thing
Birdman
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Drinking Buddies
Red State
Frances Ha

[LoathedVermin72]

What makes a movie 'arthouse'? Is it a disregard for commercial concerns? Because the word arthouse means arthouse cinema means small movie theatre that plays movies that don't make a lot of money but do try to make an artistic statement. And that's exactly what trag was saying re: film v movie

Well, I mean, the term "arthouse" is a reference to movies that would literally play a different circuit of theaters than "mainstream" movies - the arthouse circuit. Thus, these were movies that everyone knew were outside of what mainstream audiences would be interested in. That is not a meaningless distinction; these movies are being made for a specific, niche audience. There is a specific approach to filmmaking that accompanies this. The styles can often be disparate, but so can styles among horror movies or action movies. But just as horror and action have their tropes, you bet your ass arthouse has its:

-Misery
-Suffering
-Silence
-Long Takes
-Sociopolitical Point-Making

And so on. Is this strict? No, but genres never are. Does every movie in the genre adhere? Of course not; there are always outliers. But I think, over time, these attitudes and tropes have become more and more entrenched and less and less varied, and resultantly, arthouse has become arguably the most safe, stale, dull, and boring genre of all. Which is ironic, considering it began as a means of expressing artistic freedom, of breaking from constraints, of radicalizing thought and aesthetic. That seriousness is all but gone.

[LoathedVermin72]

I'm gonna list some films. Please tell me which (if any) are "arthouse" films:

Mulholland Drive YES
Garden State NO
The Graduate NO
Winter's Bone Ehh 50/50 on this one
Moonlight (haven't seen but) YES
La La Land (haven't seen but probably not)
Hell or High Water NO
Kill Bill NO
Annie Hall NO
13 Conversations About One Thing (haven't seen)
Birdman YES
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (haven't seen)
Drinking Buddies (haven't seen)
Red State NO
Frances Ha YES

[epilogue]

Why is Garden State not an arthouse film?

[LoathedVermin72]

Why is Garden State not an arthouse film?

It's a quirky, but mainstream, indie movie. They were all the rage in the early '00s.

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[epilogue]

Why is Garden State not an arthouse film?

It's a quirky, but mainstream, indie movie. They were all the rage in the early '00s.

Gotcha.

This has been really helpful. Thank you.

[epilogue]

I think I'm much more in line with LV's definition than I am Trag's.

But I appreciate both of you weighing in.

[LoathedVermin72]

I'm not taking this too seriously, but I do want to procrastinate on other stuff, so:

Mulholland Drive: Nah, too many big names attached, plus it's a thriller.

Garden State: Nah, it's got Natalie Portman and a popular music soundtrack.

The Graduate: Nah, it's not at all melodramatic. I'd say it's actually a very realistic depiction, given the time it came out.

Winter's Bone: Nah, again, not melodramatic. All the drama in this film was earned by the plot and characters.

Moonlight: Quite possibly. Haven't seen it yet.

La La Land: More like farthouse.

Hell or High Water: Good lord, no. This is a conventional movie masquerading as an indie flick.

Kill Bill: Don't be silly.

Annie Hall: Nah. Not melodramatic. Lighthearted and funny, and the drama feels realistic and neurotic. Also very dialogue-heavy.

13 Conversations About One Thing: I don't know anything about this.

Birdman: Nah. Post-modern/surrealist, but not arthouse.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown: Quite possibly. Almodovar's films always have a comedic element, but he certainly lets the color, set design, and silences do a lot of the heavy lifting. Could probably debate this one all day.

Drinking Buddies: I have no idea what this is, but the title makes me thing no.

Red State: No, it's a thriller.

Frances Ha: Quite possibly. Haven't seen it yet. Wouldn't put any other Baumbach in this category, but the trailer for this one makes it a contender.

If anything, arthouse movies usually aren't melodramatic at all. They tend to favor understatement.

[The Argonaut]

Arthouse is a bullshit term, not a genre. LV has just been exposed as a trag level fraud.

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[epilogue]

If anything, arthouse movies usually aren't melodramatic at all. They tend to favor understatement.

I agree on this point.

[tragabigzanda]

Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.

[epilogue]

Arthouse is a bullshit term, not a genre.

I might agree with this. But I'm not sure yet. I have to think about it.