Essay: Is Un Chien Andalou a Subversive Text?

Un Chien Andalou or 'An Andalusian Dog' was created by Luis Bunel and Salvador Dali in 1929 and is considered to be the first surrealist film and spark for the new wave of surrealist films. With its intention of creating new conventions with a dreamlike quality, so many traditional conventions in film cinema were subverted. The film critic Ado Kyrou even states that “for the first time in the history of cinema, a director tries not to please but rather alienate nearly all potential spectators”. So, in this essay I will explore how different elements in film cinema are subverted through this shocking but revolutionary film by looking at; audience expectations, genre, film grammar, narrative and ideologies. 

One of the most unique elements to analyse within Un Chien Andalou is genre. Although these conventions are intentionally supposed to be revised, there are some elements that could be argued actually follow traditional conventions subconsciously and break away from the rest of the subversions within this film. This is mainly seen in horror. Throughout the film the audience are presented with multiple scenes displaying disturbing and shocking imagery - from the slitting of the eye at the beginning, to the dead mules and then to the two protagonists dead at the end without any explanation. There is also the early use of the vignette, dark shadows, lack of perception in shots from the effective use of the iris shot and also a repetitive soundtrack that in a way also feels trapping and therefore supports the visuals. Although there isn’t any defined monster, horror tropes are still followed by violence by the man in the film and therefore some spectators may see the man in this film as the embodiment of a monster. This is emphasised by all the supernatural happenings of this dreamlike film and irrational stories within (an example is when doors are walked through into different places). In saying all this, there are elements also within this surrealist film of romance and comedy which are seen to go against viewer expectations, such as the woman kissing the man and then getting abused by him. However, it has to be said that by the main genre of horror shown, just like the dreams within, this trope is subconsciously followed and in fact not subverted. 

Film grammar and narrative in Un Chien Andalou is directly subverted to bewilder spectators. Throughout the film there is a very repetitive contrapuntal soundtrack, the usual silent film would always have the sound to back up the storyline of the film and help audiences understand the plot, characters and emotions. Because of this juxtaposing soundtrack, the sound never tries to help the viewers understand. The sound also confuses and shocks audiences further by using major and ascending chords which were used for scenes of something positive and joyful, however Un Chien Andalou uses this sound in scenes with disturbing imagery - really breaking away from traditional tropes. Time and space within the film is very fragmented and does not support the storyline at all either and reverses the norm of the narrative by completely going against Todorov's theory of a ⅗ stage structure. We see this at the start of the film when the woman gets her eye slit by the man. Already this as an exposition is misleading and not following Todorov's theory. It also really jumbles up time and space as throughout the film we see her with both her eyes untouched - even when she is seen dead at the end of the film. Furthermore the intertitles which should be helping explain the narrative are also not even relevant as they do not explain any place but rather just appear with random times on them. However this used device is great for indulging audiences into this new surrealist world.

Character arcs are never properly established within the film and the characters are always there to baffle viewers particularly when the man and woman’s relationship is never properly defined. This is because she was mournful when the man fell off his bike near the beginning of the film but then this is surprising considering he is seen to be very abusive towards her throughout. 

The main element of film cinema that Bunel and Dali wanted to attack was the ideologies and audience expectations of the time. Un Chien Andalou was not only made to appall audiences, but also to undeviatingly attack the catholic church and bourgeoisie institutions. They meant to scandalise the bourgeois audience but were shocked to find that the audience loved the film (much to Bunel’s disappointment). A way in which they attacked the institutions was mainly found in the scene where the man pulls the two pianos. The objects here are heavily symbolised and the dead donkey represents one's faults and immoral behavior which really relates to the man as he is seen to be very immoral by his abuse in the film.  This scene also focuses on religion as there are also two figures that look like priests and on the ropes he pulls directly on his back are also two slabs which are said to be the 10 Commandments. Because they are seen in shots where the man is dragging specifically these religious ‘objects’ it could be said that they create a huge burden for people and he has the burden because of his ‘catholic guilt’ by his actions and not being a good man. It is also the only thing that is keeping him from being a monster and preventing him from getting to the woman. The woman after this scene then goes into a room with the man wearing an outfit that looks like what a nun would wear which also is quite an attack by contrasting this innocent institution where nuns were typically female and replacing this with a man wearing the outfit who is abusive and aggressive. This would really shock and baffle spectators. 

To conclude, Un Chien Andalou subverts all elements of traditional cinema and the conventions within and by doing this sets a new module for a future movement of surrealist films. The reversing of tropes makes this film very effective in creating a dream-like world and makes it revolutionary and shocking. The revised traditions also perfectly demonstrate the unconscious through the dreamlike visuals and use of micro elements throughout the film.