Review of Un Chien Andalou (1929) by Kenneth L — 04 May 2011

Well, it's kind of pointless to say much about this movie. It's the notorious 16-minute short film co-created by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali in 1929. It's basically one extended dream sequence, in which bizarre images follow on each other for no particular reason.

There's no story, no real characters, no real setting: just images and events without explanation. In 1929 it was no doubt shocking to audiences; seen today, after the work of David Lynch, it seems almost cute.

I actually laughed at quite a few of the images that probably would have scared or baffled a 1929 audience member. It's impossible to review this movie in any conventional sense, so I'll just say that it is indeed important viewing if you're interested in cinema history in general or Surrealism in particular, but don't expect anything you normally expect from a movie.