History and Development of French Impressionism

Avant-garde is the term of modern sense in people or works in experimental treatment on visual, arts, culture and society. During the 1910s and 1920s, period of ‘historical avant-gardes’ as well as a peak era of arising experimentalism in film arts, for examples: Impressionism in France, Constructive in the Soviet Union, Expressionism in Germany, Futurism in Italy, Surrealism in Spain and France, Muralism in Mexico, and Modernismo in Brazil (Stam, 2000). These avant-garde filmmakers have put experimentation as their practice’s central with experiment with three overlapping levels: reworking genres, exploring the variety of film language and define the representation of subjectivity again. Hence, these experimental allow the filmmakers challenged with the traditional filmic narrative and omniscience of the spectators with different new film techniques (Hayward, 2013). In this essay, we will focus on the history and development of French Impressionism and how the film movement influenced the Hong Kong film, ‘In the Mood for Love’ (Wong Kar-wai, 2000).

French Impressionism was an avant-garde aesthetic which brought a huge impact in the film industry with formed the independent companies, but remain the commercialize elements for the purpose of renting the studio facilities and releasing their films in the mid-1920s. However, French Impressionism had struggled a lot of obstacles before it's able to become a legend film movement in the industry. French film industry declined during World War I as many resources were drained away for wartime uses to support the fighting. At the same time, American films began moving into France to fill up the vacant screen. The French film market at the end of 1917 was dominated by Hollywood cinema as only 20 to 30 percent of the films screened were produced by French. The French producers faced an uphill obstacle to fully recover their prewar strength in producing films.

The problems faced by French Film production between 1918 and 1928

1. Competition from Imports

As mentioned above, the amount of imported films into French occupy a huge percentage in the French film market especially the American films in early of the decade. In the mid- to late 1920s, American films have declined but the growth of film production in other countries such as Germany and Great Britain were faster than did France. Because of the enormous competitor, American films dominating most of the film markets caused French cinema can only rely on a limited number of successful films with limited export to the countries where had a cultural exchange with France such as Belgium, Switzerland and French Colonies in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Source from: Film History (Thompson & Bordwell, 2002)

2. Disunity within the Film Industry

After World War I, the two major film companies, Pathé Frères and Léon Gaumont do not pay any effort for film production, but choose to cut back the badly damage and risky on industry and only concern on the profits from distribution and exhibition by abandoning vertical integration firms which able to strengthen the film industry. This phenomena caused the French industry was led by few large and medium-size firm but many small companies. Additionally, production, distribution and exhibition were three sectors of the industry which often have a lot of conflicts because the small exhibitors have no stake in French production so they always show the American films to bring profit for them. Although the film producers requested frequently to the government to limit the amount of imported films. However, the government failed to protect local film industries from foreign competitors because of the more powerful distributors and exhibitors rely on the imports to make money. Plus, a strong attack to the industry with high taxes on movie ticket has brought a lot of harm to every sector of the industry.

3. Outdated Production Facilities

The lack of capital investment cause the French production only able depended on glass studio built during prewar and the filmmakers hard to catch up with the technological innovation American firms (especially lighting equipment)   had invented during 1910s. The French Filmmakers failed to create lighting effect hence they start to use sunlight and block off some parts of the light to create dark patches. During 1920s, modern lighting technology became common but the cost was too expensive for widespread use.

Major Postwar Genres

Although French industry faced a lot of difficulties as mentioned above, the filmmakers still produced a variety of films. In the postwar era, French serials followed the establish patterns which were cliffhanger ending, master criminals and exotic locales. However, the format has to change because of the social criticism on the glorification of crime. Due to the limited budget, many film companies using French monuments as setting. Fantasy film with special camera tricks and comedies were popular genres in French industry.

The Impressionists’ Relation to the Industry

Source from: Film History (Thompson & Bordwell, 2002)

            The rising of a new generation of filmmakers had relieved the crises in French industry. These filmmakers had arranged their time to make avant-garde piece of art and profit-oriented film at the same time to get their financing. According to the picture above, we can see that there were prolific, successful directors and companies born in the era of French Impressionist Cinema which brought a lot of impact to the film industry.

For examples: Abel Gance was the first filmmaker who departs from established stylistic traditional. Besides making Impressionist films, he also had to work on commercial projects. However, Gance attempt to make more individual works as he has a huge passion on Romantic literature and art. Charles Pathé continued to finance and distribute Gance’s films after he formed his own company. The decision can bring a high risk for Pathé because of the Gance’s films were lengthy and very expensive but luckily Grance was the most famous Impressionist. Gaumont, the other major film company had invested in the production of Rose-France by Marcel L’Herbier, the second Impressionist film with the allegory of war-battered France which not generally seen as it was too impenetrable. On top of that, in 1922 the Russian production group settled down in Paris with new image as Film Albatros. The lead actor in this company had become a major French star in this industry who named as Ivan Mosjoukine. Albatros was profitable by producing few Impressionist films. The Impressionist’s independent production had raised the French Impressionism film movement however the movement faded because of the filmmakers lost their small companies in the short period.

The End of French Impressionism

            In the 1920s, there were three different Europe film movements coexist while the French Impressionism lasted the longest, from 1918 to early 1929. One of the factors caused the movement faded was the Impressionist filmmakers disbanded their tightly knit group and started to experiment in different directions due to the film style’s techniques were becoming more customary. By the late of 1920s, the public and distribution firms were losing their interest in supporting Impressionist film plus the Impressionist faced a hardship when losing their independent companies in the late 1920s. In the bad economic situation, the filmmakers were unable to rebuild their independence film production during the arrival of costly sound production in 1929. However, the essences of the French Impressionism such as psychological narrative, subjective camerawork and editing techniques were long-lived as they are still existing in our film industry.

Characteristics of French Impressionist Films

The Impressionists perceive cinema as an art of emotion, an occasion for the artists/filmmakers to express feelings. (Bordwell & Thompson, 2010, p. 464) The interaction of a few characters, usually love triangle, would serve as the basis for the exploration of filmmaker on fleeting moods and shifting sensations. The Impressionist loves giving narration considerable psychological depth and revealing the play of a character’s consciousness. They focus more on the inner action of the characters but not the external physical behavior.

Moreover, Impressionist films manipulate time plot time and subjectivity. Flashbacks are used to depict memories and the filmmaker will also portray the characters’ dreams, fantasies, and mental states. In the film In The Mood For Love (Wong, 2000), the director used another way to represent memories. The scene where Mr. Chow walking at the corridor in the hotel after he leaves his room, then he and the waving curtains froze in the frame, showing that he is embedding the moment as a memory. (picture 1.1)

Picture 1.1

            As the Impressionist movement is known by its use to film style. The filmmakers use cinematography and editing to illustrate the characters’ mental states. From the film In The Mood For Love (Wong, 2000), the scene where Mr. Chow is sitting at his working desk and smoking in the office. He lights up the cigarette and the expression on his face shows that he is thinking of something. The smoke that is floating above his head represents his confused inner thought, which is clouded like the smoke. (picture 2.1) Another cinematic way that the director used in the film to show the inner states of the character is slow motion. The scene of both Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan going to noodle stall alone separately, the slow motion shots represent their feeling of time going by slowly in their daily routine because of the loneliness. (picture 2.2)

Picture 2.1

Picture 2.2

In impressionist films, the filmmakers use irises, masks, and superimpositions to be functioned as traces of characters’ thoughts and feelings. An example can be found in the film No Regrets for Our Youth (Kurosawa, 1946), the scene where Yukie is sitting in the cell after being imprisoned, a sweeping clock pendulum is superimposed in the frame, which reflects the time is going slowly. (picture 3.1) While in Coeur Fidele (Epstein, 1923), the heroine looks out a window, the foul jetsam of waterfront is superimposed to convey her dejection at working as a barmaid in a dockside tavern. (picture 3.2)

Picture 3.1

Picture 3.2

            Besides, cinematography and editing are also used to present characters’ perceptual experience, which is their optical impressions, to intensify the subjectivity. Point-of-view shot is used to show the objects or subjects that the character is looking at, replicating the characters’ vantage point. The Impressionist also uses distorted or filtered shots and vertiginous camera movements to show the drunkenness and dizziness of the character. For example, a shot of a curved mirror in El Dorado (Hawks, 1921) that stretches the man’s body sideways, which conveys his tipsiness. (picture 4.1)

Picture 4.1

            Furthermore, impressionist experimented with noticeable rhythmic editing to suggest the pace of an experience as a character feels it, moment by moment. The rhythm accelerates when there is emotional turmoil, as the shots get shorter and shorter. One of the examples is in the film In The Mood For Love (Wong, 2000), the fast cut or montage of Mrs. Chan going up and down at the staircase in the hotel, which is portraying the struggle of her on whether she want to meet Mr. Chow.

Video: Psyche

Synopsis

A married guy is in the darkness who found that his wife cheating on him. Alone in the darkness, he is drinking alcohol in a way to express the pain out of him. As much as he drink, the expressions take place in his mind, thoughts going on in his mind. After drinking a lot, a flashback of his wife cheating on him. He couldn’t bear the pain and due to the overly drunk he came up with a decision.

Application of Characteristics

French Impressionist Cinema is a form of artworks that creates feelings, or impressions. In this video the narration significant psychological depth, revealing the husband character's consciousness. Basically art is created by the painters and it will evoke different kind of emotions to the audience. In this theory the interest is not on the external action but inner action, the thoughts of the character and the mental state. Our main male character drinks alcohol and the emotions that he express was the inner actions the thought of his.

The emotions or feelings are circuitously expressed in art but it delivers to the audience who can determine the emotions. At the beginning of this video a red rose is burned signifying the passion in the love is no longer exits. Moreover, at the end an Indian lamp fire is blown off which means something horrible thing is about to happen that is what Indian believes. The husband wore a pure white shirt is to show the innocence and the wife character in the flashback wore a red dress showing the evilness within her. Not only that, there are few symbolisms in this video, to let the audience decides what it means. French Impressionism films are normally less direct and more suggestive. We have made it less direct and some symbolisms are used in order to give suggestive.

The editing is an important element in French Impressionism because the editing helps the audience to understand the mental state of the character. We have superimposed one video to another to show the character thoughts to evoke the inner feelings, where the husband character drinks and the emotion of his in close up is shown at the same time. We also used the continuity cut to emphasize smooth transition of time and space. The husband character drinks a lot and there is where the continuity cut is used to show he drinks a lot.

The lighting is used to render the mental state of the character. When the husband smokes, key light was used as you can see half of his face cover with shadows, gives a look of skull on his face indicating the dark side of his. On the flashback the lightings are bright to show the life of the wife wanted is to be bright meanwhile the husband life is pushed to darkness.

French Impressionism experimented and pronounced the rhythmic editing to show the pace of the experience as the character feels, moments by moments. Our video used the technique to accelerate the shots and building to a climax. Shot of the husband stabbing his wife, and superimpositions of screaming, crying and frustrated facial expressions, are used show the drunken character’s feelings. Throughout the whole video is showing what happening in his mind and what leads him to do when he had the thoughts in his mind.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, we think that French Impressionism was the coolest film movement ever as the filmmakers love to explore the psychological causes of the characters instead of external physical behavior. Luckily, the influences of Impressionism forms are so impactful and still able to remain until today as the camera works and editing techniques have become an undying legend in film industry.  The Impressionism forms applied in the Hong Kong movie, ‘In the Mood for Love’ had made the movie became a beautiful art and able to take the audiences into the inner world of the characters to feel the humanity. Lastly, we felt honored to have a chance to produce an Impressionist film as an art of emotion and we have learnt a lot of knowledge about French Impressionism.