...it's a film in which not much happens
In Praise of Slow Cinema
Scene from Andrei Tarkovsky’s Mirror (1975)
So as ReidsonFilm reaches the end of our inaugural season, we have been reflecting on the highlights of this run of often good, sometimes great, and occasionally bad (just one … but which one?) films. We have also spent some time wrestling with the definition of a genre of cinema that is guaranteed to divide the audience. Well, not so much a genre but more of a style. What we are talking about here is slow cinema.
What do we mean by slow cinema? Well, films in which the pace is certainly slow, meditative and may even lead to boredom, but there is more to it than that. Classics of slow cinema would include Antonioni’s Red Desert, The Sacrifice by Andrei Tarkovsky, and Béla Tarr’s The Turin Horse. The Terrorizers and The Music Room are examples from this season, and both films prompted comments about the lack of action.
I appreciated elements of the filmmaking but struggled to remain interested in the story which was meandering and hard to follow - N
I appreciate this film but my tiktok brain is nonetheless bored - C
Slow cinema is a label that started attracting notice in the early 2000s. At that point it was considered a reaction to the increasingly frenetic, speed-edited, bombardment of sound and image that was becoming the Hollywood norm. In the 1930s the average shot length for English language films was about 12 seconds; today it is 2.5. Any filmgoer familiar with the works of Robert Bresson, Andrei Tarkovsky, or Pier Paolo Pasolini would know that slow cinema has been around for a while. In fact its beginnings can be traced to the end of World War II with the arrival of Italian neorealism, an emphasis on naturalism, and a challenge to cinema’s definition as a narrative art form.
The recent popularity of slow cinema coincides with the rise of slow food and slow travel. In a world where everybody is connected to everything and the pace of life seems to be accelerating, the idea of stillness is becoming more attractive. But slow cinema is not just an alternative to a mindfulness app – it also takes more time.
There are no definitive criteria for what makes a film slow cinema but typically there will be an emphasis on long takes – shots of much longer duration than you would typically expect. For a striking example of this take a look at the clip below that compares the cuts in a scene from the film Still Walking with a scene from The Bourne Ultimatum:
You might say this is unfair as we are comparing dialogue with an action scene but Hirokazu Kore-eda would respond that the dialogue here is the action. In addition to long takes the camera may be static or slow moving. You can see examples of this in both The Terrorizers and The Music Room: images are held to the point of stasis with characters’ faces held in prolonged close-up.
As mentioned above slow cinema arose as part of a challenge to the traditional narrative form of film: plot or narrative continuity is often unclear or even absent. The focus is on the mundane, quotidian activities of life: the aspects of daily living that you don’t often see in film. Or you may simply be watching the passage of time:
Some filmmakers are masters of movement: movement of the camera and movement of elements within the picture frame. One of the greatest exponents of this was Akira Kurosawa. His extraordinary ability in composing movement is recognized in our review of Dersu Uzala. With slow cinema in contrast you are not looking at mastery of movement, but mastery of time.
And here you need look no further than the films of Andrei Tarkovsky. Throughout his work he makes the viewer aware of how time is passing. He uses longer takes and minimal editing, often disrupting the flow of chronological time.
Film is a mosaic made up of time, Tarkovsky
This may, and often does, test your patience. That perhaps is the point. As with art in other forms there is a challenge here and your response will only ever be subjective. You may find it boring, anxiety-provoking, annoying, or even relaxing. But if you are willing to engage with slow cinema you will find that you become more attentive, more perceptive … and you may come away from the film looking at life a little differently.
How to watch Slow Cinema: ideally a matinee performance in a cinema with comfortable seats, a cup of good coffee, and between five and twenty other others in the audience. Not after 10pm and a few (or more) glasses of wine. And never on a mobile device - S
Reids’ Recommendations:
Cemetery of Splendor (2015) Apichatpong Weerasethakul
This is slow cinema par excellence. A group of Thai soldiers succumb to a mysterious disorder where they spontaneously collapse in a state of persistent sleep. They lie side by side in a hospital ward bathed in soft, coloured light. An ambient hum encourages you to lose the thread. The director, Weerasethakul, admits to falling asleep in his own films.
Memoria (2021) Apichatpong Weerasethakul
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist” - Pablo Picasso. Again, by Weerasethakul, this one is an atypical example of slow cinema. It has plot, it has movement. It also has Tilda Swinton. She plays a Scottish expatriate in Colombia who is visiting her ill sister. Pursued by sudden manifestations of a loud ‘bang’ sound which recurs every now and then in her head, the film follows her efforts to make sense of her strange symptom. Along the way you will collide with spiritual, if not supernatural, forces.
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011) Nuri Bilge Ceylan
On the surface, this is the story of a police investigation. A convoy – led by the crown prosecutor and consisting of the police chief, officers, gravediggers, two prisoners and a doctor – drives through the darkness trying to locate something. A study in stillness and intensity, this film will change your perception of reality.
Mirror (1974) Andrei Tarkovsky
Exquisite visual imagery, mesmerising long takes, and a seamless blending of time, dream and memory. A film that can be watched over and over again and on every occasion you will find something new.
Thanks again for reading Reids on Film. Let us know your thoughts here and do share with friends.
And next week, we have the Reids on Film Season One Awards. Stay tuned…
Is Ozu considered slow cinema?