CINQ MINUTES DE CINEMA PUR (1926)
Article 5251 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 9-18-2016
Directed by Henri Chomette
No cast
Country: France
What it is: Experimental film

No plot

If the title translates as FIVE MINUTES OF PURE CINEMA, then I have to say that’s a good title for an experimental film; I’d expect it to be one with a title like that. In this case, what it amounts to is a series of shots of unidentifiable glassy objects followed by some shots of trees. Much of the film is static; we see an object and it fades out as a new object (or a new view of the same object) fades back in. There are a few segments which include movement, but not many. And, for me, that’s one of the problems with this one; I would think movement would be essential for a work to be “pure cinema”; static shots have the air of watching a display of photographs. In fact, in comparison with most of the experimental work I’ve seen, this one is rather dull. Still, there is a chance that the lack of a musical soundtrack in the copy I found might have had a detrimental effect on my viewing; this is the type of short that screams for music. As it is, it’s a bit of a disappointment, and doesn’t quite live up to the title. And I’m not sure anything about this one could be properly said to have any fantastic content.