Louis Buñuel

Author: Liaoning Fine Arts Publishing House
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: The cinema is regarded as a "phenomenon of (human) fantasy." "Imago" () is more focused on human psychological and physiological sensations than "image" (), and it builds a complete form together with life. Here, "imago" replaces the perception and impression of the projected images by the projector at the birth of cinema. "Imago" also carries a certain "ideological" presupposition. Imago is a series of book collections that systematically organizes the works and creations of contemporary cinematic masters. To be precise, it is a record of texts and images showing respect to the "author" directors. It does not delve into the vast history of cinema; this scope may be unfamiliar to what people commonly know as "film directors." Therefore, the target audience of Imago was destined to be narrow from the beginning. The birth of Imago stems from the passionate and enduring love for cinema held by a few individuals. Here, it is hoped to establish an effective and healthy linguistic environment, fostering attention and scrutiny toward the "aesthetic value" of cinema beyond its "entertainment function," as well as placing it above the conventional "reception" of watching films. Moreover, in the current era of rapidly expanding visual information and the lack of specialized research materials on cinema, Imago aims to simplify complexity and serve as a "reference tool" in the process of "understanding" cinema—this could be one of the values of Imago.
Luis Bu?uel Portolés was born on February 22, 1900, in Calanda, near Del in the Aragon region of eastern Spain. The local mystical folklore and the barren, bizarre, and cruel experiences he encountered in his early life became significant elements in his artistic life structure (it is said that his four sisters chose this place to commit suicide, dressed in black, with black olives, black sausages, and caviar as their last sacrament). Bu?uel had an extremely close relationship with his mother; the filming expenses for his An Andalusian Dog were funded by her with 5,000 pesetas (140,000 legal francs), and all his family members were devout Catholic believers, making it a typical European bourgeoisie household. At the age of 16, Bu?uel joined the famous "Free Education Group Student Dormitory," where he studied agriculture, entomology, and mathematics, eventually earning a master's degree in philosophy and the history of literature in 1924. During his youth, he associated with the poet Lorca, the painter Dalí, and the philosopher José Ortega y Gasset. More importantly, during this period, he discovered cinema and founded a film club with Dalí and others. He also went to Paris with Dalí. In Paris, he met the German director Fritz Lang, known for Three Lives (1921), and the French director Jean Clair, known for La Chute de la Maison Mabuse (1924), and studied at the school founded by Jean Epstein. In 1930, he joined the Surrealist movement and sought the consistency between Surrealism and cinematic methods, particularly by borrowing the extreme freedom brought by montage techniques. Before this, he shot his influential work An Andalusian Dog, which was cited by Bob Coe, the author of Film Elements, as one of the most influential works in film history—due to its pioneering use of symbolic imagery, omission, and impressionistic editing techniques. This film revealed the recurring themes and aesthetic tendencies in Bu?uel's work: a fascination with violence, desire, and hallucination. This may be related to his childhood religious environment, which fostered a love for meaning and a strange reliance on restraint and paradox. In 1928, with his mother's support, Bu?uel co-directed An Andalusian Dog with Dalí. The two appeared in the main roles—now, this is considered a very standard debut: personal investment, co-production, and starring in one's own work.
[Table of Contents]
About the Director
About the Work
Dialogue
Reviews
Notes
Script
Work Chronology
[Foreword]
I still remember the shocking feeling when I first watched The Forgotten People, and then I realized that the camera had such a powerful force. It penetrates the heart. From then on, the name Luis Bu?uel gradually became familiar to me. But a deeper understanding of Bu?uel came during the process of compiling this book. Due to the limited research on Bu?uel in China or the Chinese-speaking world, the search, translation, and verification of related materials became a painful, lengthy, yet exhilarating and happy journey. Like Bu?uel's films, the entire process of compiling this book seemed chaotic, torturous, yet occasionally illuminated by moments of joy. Now, all that has gradually faded into memory. Perhaps in the years to come, they will occasionally resurface before my eyes. I remember when I received the task of compiling this book, I was still renting a small room on the second floor of the office building of the Beijing Dongsi Baitiao Hutong Theatre Association. Outside the window of the small room, lush green locust leaves were swaying. Now, I think they have all turned into golden butterflies. It should be noted that the materials used in this book, especially those related to films, are mostly from English or French sources and are scarce, lacking the conditions for mutual correction. Combined with the difficulties of translation, errors are inevitable, and I sincerely ask the readers for their criticism and correction. For the script section, considering its age and the fact that An Andalusian Dog has been published multiple times, it was meticulously described in detail according to the actual shooting order of the film.
The completion of this book is first and foremost thanks to the planning and editing of Wang Rong and my classmate Zhang Xiaotao, and even more so to the countless dedicated friends who offered help. Without their contributions, this manuscript would not have been completed. I want to say it again: thank you! Zhu Yuqing, November 2004
[Excerpts and Illustrations]
An Andalusian Dog
This is a film that cannot be described in terms of plot. Under the night sky, a man on the balcony is sharpening a razor. A floating cloud drifts toward a full moon, melting into the close-up of a girl's face. The man cuts out the girl's eyes with a sharp razor. A wisp of cloud drifts past the moon. A few years later, on a deserted street, a cyclist with a square box hanging from his chest approaches. A girl reading sees the cyclist fall into a muddy ditch, rushes up to him, and kisses his hands covered in ants. A strong-willed woman plays with a bloody, severed hand on the ground. The cyclist grabs the girl's breasts, and saliva drips onto them. Pumpkins, two monks from a theological seminary, and two triangular pianos, piled with rotten donkey meat, are in the bedroom. A man in a cloak, with missing teeth and lips, has black hair growing from his lips. The two embrace and walk forward, their figures gradually receding. The word "SPRING" appears in large letters in the sky. Then the beach turns into a desert, and the sand gradually buries their chests. They are blind and ragged. The scorching sun beats down on them, and insects bite them.
To understand 20th-century European avant-garde literary and artistic trends, especially the Surrealist movement that permeated France, one must understand this still bizarre short film. At the time, Surrealists used this to express their outrage against all established orders, including the subversion of various artistic conventions. An Andalusian Dog, born on this foundation, left audiences accustomed to logical and plot-driven films feeling inexplicable. The film is filled with unrelated things, ambiguous symbols, and unbreakable montage: a razor cutting eyes, a dead donkey lying on a piano, monks inappropriately placed in a bedroom. Many people try to figure out their specific meanings. However, Bu?uel himself denied any meaning in the film: "I constantly hear or read clever but vague interpretations. In fact, Dalí and I just linked a few of our strange dreams together. We decisively abandoned everything that could convey meaning." Despite this, the exploration of the film's true intent has not stopped to this day. At least, it reflects the spiritual atmosphere and artistic passion of that era. Through it, we can easily see the ideological state of the rebellious youth of that generation: aimless anger, mad despair, anarchy, a complete rejection and curse of money and labor, religion and reason, the Western world and culture. In fact, even today, the visual shock the film gives, the emotional impact it has on the heart, the collision it has with the subconscious, and its bold satire of the flaws of reality all genuinely enlighten people. Strange dreams, unimaginable allegories and metaphors, sharp and cruel imagery strike the eyes like bombs, leaving no escape from the screen. This film makes abstract Surrealism concrete. More than a film, it is Bu?uel's Surrealist manifesto. It opens all the themes of Bu?uel's later films: reason and impulse, freedom and taboo, sex and death, religion and belief, love and despair, chance and repetition. The moment it appeared, people exclaimed, "A Surrealist master has emerged!" His obsession with dreams and his genius in using this cinematic technique have almost become a label for his films. All of these will be repeatedly experienced in Bu?uel's later works. P16-18