Postmodernism in cinema: the best films

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The era of postmodernism most clearly experienced its heyday in world culture since the second half of the twentieth century and actually turned the human perception of art and beauty. Such vivid films as "Pulp Fiction" by Quentin Tarantino, the domestic "Assa" by Sergei Solovyov and many others were created just at the dawn of postmodernism in cinema. What else distinguished and remembered the style of the world cinematographic community?

What is postmodernism in cinema

The art of the last century was distinguished by surrealism and abstractionism. Malevich and Dali painted on their canvases "nothing" out of nowhere, a phenomenon of non-existence into which various meanings can be attached. Each observer sees something different in these pictures. But painting, poetry, cinema - all kinds of art, together with their creators, have reached a dead end. And this impasse is best displayed in the "Black Square". For creative individualsthere is only one question: what to do with the current crisis? And then the post-non-classical philosophy is replaced by a game called postmodern. This is a response to modernism and an attempt to find answers to what modernists did not find in their time.

Below are the best postmodern films.

The Draftsman's Contract by Peter Greenaway

This film perfectly shows postmodernism in the cinema of the 20th century. The picture is notable for the fact that such a thing as human morality has completely disappeared in it, and the main characters are depraved, they do not think about what is happening, but enjoy life. Magnificent rich interior of the 17th century, expensive clothes - everything is fine here, but the heroes do nothing but lie and weave intrigues.

In the center of the plot is the artist Neville, who signed a contract according to which he must paint 12 paintings of his rich estate before the arrival of the head of the family. But then it turns out that each image contains evidence of crimes. And, apparently, no one will arrive, since it is the head of the family who is dead. But the hero does not care about what is happening, he draws, admires the world around him, and the fact that he can become accused is, by the way. Murder, false accusations, contracts for sexual services and blackmail - the film is full of everything that was not on the screens before. This is the theater of the absurd. A picture that cannot be taken unambiguously, it shows the human negative side as vile as it can be, and asks not to become like heroes if you do not havedesire to live an empty, ridiculous life.

Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino

"Pulp Fiction" is an example of how the moral evaluation of the characters disappears in the cinema of postmodernism, as they are initially shown in a ridiculous way. But not enough to kill the suspense - the tension in which the plot of the picture keeps the viewer. This is where dialogue comes to the fore, and their stylistic approach becomes a source of multiple quoting.

The film itself is a black comedy, where several stories of different people are intertwined, which gave such a development of events. Everything is absurd, at first incomprehensible, and this is the main feature of the film. The picture became an impetus in the development of American independent cinema.

In the plot, all the events and storylines (there are six as planned) were mixed up and shown in the wrong order. Tarantino's creation was awarded the "Oscar", the title of one of the best films of all time, and many have seen and remember the dance of John Travolta and Uma Thurman, regardless of whether they watched the movie or not.

"Assa" by Sergei Solovyov

"Assa" is one of the first domestic films, which is an example of postmodernism in cinema. The picture tells about the history of Russian rock.

Musical groups such as "Kino", "Bravo" and "Aquarium" were involved in the creation of the film. Probably inIn connection with this, the film became the embodiment of the current of rock in Russia, which reached its apogee by the end of the eighties. In the center of the plot is a love triangle, around the participants of which the dramatic and sometimes criminal events of the film unfold.

"Adjuster" by Kira Muratova

The work of director K. Muratova is a vivid example of postmodernism in Russian cinema. "Adjuster" is an interpretation of the works of the famous Moscow detective of Tsarist Russia Arkady Koshko. The picture was created in 2004 and was nominated for 7 Nika awards, of which she was awarded three: "Best Actress" (Alla Demidova), "Best Supporting Actress" (Nina Ruslanova) and "Best Director ". The film also received the main prize - the "Golden Lily" of the German International Film Festival of Central and Eastern European Films.

The events of the picture unfold in Tsarist Odessa, the central figure of the plot is the piano tuner Andrey (Georgy Deliev), whom the case brought together with two rich friends Anna (Alla Demidova) and Lyuba (Nina Ruslanovna). Andryusha himself considers himself the happiest, but at the same time the most unfortunate person in the whole wide world. Happy, because he is madly in love with a girl named Lina (Renata Litvinova), and she has mutual feelings for him. But the trouble is that she is from a we althy family and is accustomed to luxury, and his honest work brings only a penny. The main character's lack of money - that's whatdoes not allow lovers to live happily together. And in a state of despair and grief, Andrey is already ready for anything, even breaking the law, in order to solve his problem. But he does not want to resort to violence, so he comes up with a sophisticated plan to rob two new rich acquaintances.

What else is famous for the cinema of postmodernism

In addition, the features of postmodernism are manifested in such films as Altman's "McCabe and Mrs. Miller", F. Coppola's "The Godfather", Scott's "True Love" and others. Francis Ford Coppola's crime drama did not just acquire a cult status, but became one of the most significant in the history of cinema.