Art comes from Europe

“From the beginning of the Revolution, our artistic foundation was in fact essentially Italian Neo-Realism.”

T.G. Alea (Individual Fulfillment and collective achievement, 1977)

Although Third Cinema wanted to disconnect itself from the passive and conventional Hollywood- (so-called ‘first’) and European auteur (‘second’) cinema, which was “trapped inside a fortress”, according to Godard (Solanas & Getino, 1969), nevertheless, especially European art had a major influence on it. During the fifties, studying at the Roman Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Alea learned to use a low-budget, real locations and ‘real’ improvising non-actors (Chanan, 1996). The questioned reliability not only of the media but also of memories, like for instance Kennedy’s speech about the Bay of Pigs Invasion echo the fragmented cinema of Resnais. As alienated and wandering individuals,  the two protagonists of the aforementioned films try to escape from their empty existence  in a metropolis. French existentialist novels like Nausea (Sartre, 1938) and L’Etranger (Camus, 1942) are not faraway.

São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima (Person, 1964)

The indifferent Sergio goes against the flow during a manifestation and alarming images of Cuban streets under siege by military people pass him by. Just as American writer Hemingway, he isolates himself in his appartement from the ‘real’ Cuba. Sergio’s and Carlos’ sometimes Nouvelle Vague-like handling of women, also shows an Antonioni style of the difficulties and distance in human relationships. When they both take their date out to an art gallery, there is always one of them that engages and the other that gets bored by all the critically acclaimed European art. Both are forced to marry their counterparts, but only Carlos accepts. Later on, he vainly attempts to flee his careering and trying to support a family (also known as the ‘American Dream’).

Memorias del subdesarrollo (Alea, 1968)

The literary debate, with Desnoes himself, argues the limitations of the artist under the communist regime. On top of that, an American (the preface writer of Memorias‘ English language edition of the book) comments  on their conventional ’round table’ form of discussion. The ideological purpose to let loose Western ideas and discuss on the same level of the masses was and still is unfortunately a communist or even democratic utopia, especially when it comes to art.

“Isn’t the goal of public recognition a part of the rules of the artistic game? When it comes to artistic culture, isn’t European recognition equivalent to worldwide recognition? Doesn’t it serve art and our peoples as well when works produced by underdeveloped nations obtain such recognition?”

J.G. Espinosa (For an imperfect cinema, 1969)

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Conclusion

I examined two films that are probably more semi-autobiographical and self-reflexive then they seem. Born into the middle class, into a financially strong family, they had more chances to practice an expensive art as filmmaking. Although belonging to no ‘class in a sense, the bourgeoisie’s opportunism tends to remain one of the main driving forces of capitalism. Memorias and SA, both deliver an ‘imperfect’ mirror and try to show their place in society. They end with cynical images of a meaningless mass, infinitely propelling as an engine behind the metropolis involved.

The economic growth of a country gives a certain amount of people wealth and consequently more time to think. That extra time can lead to existential crises, depressions and even suicides (remember the perfect Scandinavian welfare-state in the sixties and seventies (Judt, 2010: 462)). Now that the Brazilian economy is blossoming, films like Era Uma Vez Eu, Verônica (2012, Gomes) resonate Carlos’ doubts about the meaning of life, including the imposed values and norms.

Finally, we can say that in the year 2014, art and especially film still remain an expensive hobby that mainly searches recognition at prestigious European film festivals like Cannes or North-American like Sundance and Toronto. Hopefully with the ‘digital revolution’ and widespread democratization will not only crush the budget barrier but also break social limits. Such a (real) independence like that would guarantee a lot of crap but also a lot of interesting, experimental and groundbreaking cinema.

São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima (Person, 1964)

Bibliography

Works

Burton, J. (1977). Individual Fulfillment, Collecitive Achievement: An interview with Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. In M. Chanan (ed.), Memories of Underdevelopment and Inconsolable Memories (pp. 188-198). Londen: Rutgers University Press.

Camus, A. (1942). L’Etranger. Paris: Librairie Gallimard.

Chanan, M. (1996). New Cinemas in Latin America. In G. Nowell-Smith (Ed.), The Oxford History of World Cinema (Pp. 427-435). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Eco, U. (1962). Opera aperta: forma e indeterminazione delle poetiche contemporanee. Milano: Bompiani.

Desnoes, E. (1965). Memorias del subdesarroll. Havana: Ediciones Unión.

Espinosa, J.G. (1969/1979). For an Imperfect Cinema. Jump Cut, 20, 24-26.

Judt, T. (2010). Na de oorlog: Een geschiedenis van Europa sinds 1945. Amsterdam: Olympus.

Solanas, F., & Gettino, O. (1969/1976). Towards a Third Cinema. B. Nichols (Ed.). Movies and methods. Vol. 1 (pp. 44-64). Berkeley: University of California Press.

Sartre, J.P. (1938). Nausea. Paris: Librairie Gallimard.

Stam, R. (2000). Film Theory. An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.

Digital information

Alea, T.G. (1973). Interview with Raymundo Gleyzer. At the International Film Festival in Pesaro, Italy, 1973 (excerpts). Retrieved January 19, 2014, from http://documentaryisneverneutral.com/words/rayminter.html

Castro, F. (1968). Castro speaks on education and parasites. Retrieved January 19, 2014, from the University of Texas, Latin American Network Information Center: http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/castro/db/1968/19680316.html

Audio-visual media

Alea, T.G. (Writer/Director). (1966). La muerte de un burócrata [Motion Picture]. Cuba: Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industrias Cinematográficos (ICAIC).

Alea, T.G. (Writer/Director). (1968). Memorias del subdesarrollo [Motion Picture]. Cuba: Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industrias Cinematográficos (ICAIC).

Alea, T.G. (Director). (1993). Fresa y chocolate [Motion Picture]. Cuba: Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industrias Cinematográficos (ICAIC).

Buñuel, L. (Writer/Director). (1961). Viridiana [Motion Picture]. Spain: Unión Industrial Cinematográfica (UNINCI).

Dos Santos, N.P. (Writer/Director). (1963). Vidas Secas [Motion Picture]. Brazil: Luiz Carlos Barreto Produções Cinematográficas.

Gomes, M. (Director). (2012). Era Uma Vez Eu, Verônica [Motion Picture]. Brazil: Dezenove Som e Imagem.

Person, L.S. (Writer/Director). (1965). São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima [Motion Picture]. Brazil: Socine Produções Cinematográficas.

Rocha, G. (Writer/Director). (1962). Barravento [Motion Picture]. Brazil: Iglu Filmes.

Sanjinés, J. (Director/Editor). (1969). Yawar Mallku [Motion Picture]. Bolivia: Ukamau Group.

Solanas, F. (Writer/Director/Producer) & Gettino, O. (Writer/Director). (1968). La hora de los hornos: Notas y testimonios sobre el neocolonialismo, la violencia y la liberaciónals [Motion Picture]. Argentina: Grupo Cine Liberación.