Briefly answer the question: "Arthouse - what is it?", Then this movie is not for everyone. This refers to tapes for intellectuals, for those people who are looking for the deepest meaning in every phenomenon of life, for philosophically minded, as well as prone to romance.
There is, however, the so-called arthouse with elements. It is for fans of erotic films, for example, and even with scenes of cruelty. This group also includes thrillers, all sorts of "horror movies."
Movie Gourmet Halls
“Films are not for everyone,” someone will say. “But Lenin also proclaimed that of all the arts, cinema is the most important for us.”
All right. For a long time this genre of art was the most sought after. It has grown more than one generation. Yes, and now the largest box office make ribbons designed for the mass audience. So the people are not offended.
By the way, the term arthouse itself (“house of arts”) appeared in the USA in the early 40s of the last century. Then cinemas began to work, showing pre-war classics shot in Hollywood, foreign films, as well as local films created on the basis of independent production. Add here films designed for ethnic minorities in America.
For film distribution, such halls where films were shown, which were obviously not intended for the broad masses of consumers, have become a special niche. And today a similar situation exists in many countries.
You ask: “And from a financial point of view, an arthouse - what is it?” Alas, these films have no solid budgets. They usually cost less than $ 10 million. Do not shine with special effects. Consequently, there are no multimillion-dollar box office .
But the creators of “author’s cinema” are not the first to profit. The idea is to help viewers understand the world, look at it with an extraordinary look. This position makes it necessary to search for a new language, a different format for filming.
The plot is almost not important
The storyline in the arthouse is usually in second place. Here "close-up" shows the inner world of the characters, their feelings, reasoning, conclusions. This is not the so-called Hollywood movie, not soap-like series, where the idea is simple and easy, the characters are simple and understandable, the music is funny, the special effects are impressive. With all this, the people are happy, and the creators of the next masterpiece, too.
Arthouse looks fundamentally different. And he has fans. They get a lot of emotions sitting in their "niche". They begin to think about life seriously and deeply, try to look at the world through the eyes of other people. They also get the desire to become creators, only in their own industry.
"Top" has collected many awards
Filmmakers are constantly searching for new expressive means. And resorting to non-standard solutions, the authors of the “other cinema” often make real discoveries in art.
Here is an example given by the Russian arthouse - the film “The Top” directed by Vasily Sigarev (2009). The young woman returned from prison. She has the terrible brand of a killer. She is trying to forget about the past, she wants to find personal happiness. At the same time, she does not pay attention to the little daughter, whom she had not even seen before. And the lonely, abandoned child himself became like a little wolf, playing with his favorite toy-spinning top, which her mother almost accidentally gave her ...
This psychological drama received many awards at the Kinotavr (the best film, the best script - Vasily Sigarev, the best female role - Yana Troyanova), the White Elephant award in the Best Film nomination, and also the first places at film festivals in Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Ukraine, as well as "Nick" for the best camera work.
You see for yourself: the best art-house films to gourmets of cinema bring true pleasure.
Piggy bank of genres
By the way, the Russian arthouse is also a variety of genres. In the piggy bank of alternative cinema there are not only feature films, melodramas, but also documentaries (for example, Walks with Brodsky, 2000) and even cartoons (Rain from Top to Down, 2007, Nika Prize).
Among foreign paintings, the title of the best will most likely be received by the first premiere of 2015 from Arthouse Traffic - the film The Man Who Loved Too Much (France). This criminal melodrama was released in Russian hire on January 1 of the new year. Starring - Catherine Deneuve and Guillaume Canet. Given the types of actors, it is worth making an independent opinion about this masterpiece.
It is noteworthy that the film is based on real events. In Nice, the young daughter of the owner of a luxury casino disappeared without a trace. And the day before, she betrayed her mother, telling about her affairs to the local mafiosi ... It was many years ago, but in France interest in the mysterious death of the girl and all this scandalous story has not subsided so far. Moreover, a novel has already been written about this and a film has been shot. And recently, the suspect was put on trial for the third time ...
There will be no indifference
We hope that after reading this article, you will cease to be perplexed and ask: "Arthouse - what is it?" And you can understand an alternative movie. You might even like it. After all, it cannot but please, for example, “The Mermaid” - Anna Melkiyan’s romantic melodrama . Or the movie "Closed spaces" - about the loneliness of adolescents, Igor Vorskla. For each, the criteria by which the best arthouse is determined are different. In contrast to the options proposed above, “Kitty” is a psychological comedy by Gregory of Constantinople. It is glued from five mini-stories. In one hero - a baby, in the other - a teenager, in the third, etc. - a successful businessman, an unsuccessful writer, an old ballerina. And each tells about his life, so unlike all the others ... And even the rap parable of Ivan Vyrypaev “Oxygen” will surely cause a storm of positive emotions. Or abusive ... That's just, I think, there will be no indifference.
Abroad
Filmmakers from Italy, Germany, France, and other countries can also boast of creating the best art-house films. Suffice it to recall the drama “Chungking Express” (Hong Kong, directed by Wong Kar-Wai), the autobiographical work of Federico Fellini's “Mom's Sons” and “Nights of Cabiria” (Italy), “The Seven Samurai” by Akira Kurosawa (Japan). But this is all - a classic, inscribed in history already with an iron pen.
However, the films of our days are also interesting: “Little finger of the Buddha” (Germany, 2013), “Mirror” (Belgium, 2013), “The road that he chooses” (Brazil, 2014) and others.
Word of mouth
As you know, the best advertisement is word of mouth. So you tell your friends and colleagues so that they do not have a question: "Arthouse - what is it?" What if they like it? And fans of this curious genre will be more.
Yes, and small, chamber, so-called "arthouse" cinemas with their special atmosphere and the subsequent discussion of the film will be added. Certainly, paintings intended for a wide audience will not get here. After all, this is also a festival movie, and documentary films, and animation, and genre works.
Indeed, there is something to watch and think about. But it is especially pleasing that our directors are not inferior to imported ones and create real masterpieces worthy of attention.