Considered inaccessible by some and disconcerting by others, Michael Snow’s films nevertheless prove to be eminently powerful when experienced in theaters. At least that’s what Guillaume Lafleur, director of programming at the Cinémathèque québécoise, believes. From Wednesday, he devotes a retrospective to this Canadian giant of contemporary art, who died last January at the age of 94.
“We invite all those who are curious, all those who are ready to see destabilizing works without a priori, to come,” says Mr. Lafleur. In order to pay homage to Snow and, at the same time, to allow a new generation of “adventurers of cinephilia” to familiarize themselves with his singular approach, it presents three distinct film programs. Together, they span almost 40 years and bring together his most famous works, as well as other, rarer nuggets.
Inevitably, Wave length (1967) and The central region (1971) are on the menu. These two films have, each in their own way, “pushed the limits of cinema,” says Mr. Lafleur. Even today, they are taught in universities all over the world and are part of the pantheon of experimental cinema.
But why? To understand, we must first see Wavelenght, which is presented in a first program of short films on Wednesday. The film consists of a single still shot, a very slow zoom in of about 45 minutes. It opens with a wide shot of the artist’s studio and ends with a close-up of a photo of waves, pinned to the wall opposite the camera. As, from time to time, characters move around the loft, the sound becomes more and more shrill, making the viewing experience almost harrowing.
Challenge the viewer
Wavelenght is thus part of the current of structural cinema which emerged from the New York art scene at the end of the 1960s. In his book visionary cinema. The American Vanguardthe historian of experimental cinema P. Adams Sitney defines it as a cinema “in which the overall form, predetermined and simplified, constitutes the main impression produced by the film” – often in fixed shot or by producing an effect of blinking, among others.
Mr. Lafleur points out that Michael Snow, who first made a name for himself as a visual artist, notably at the Ontario pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal, “had the chance to evolve in the creative ferment of New York while taking advantage of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. This therefore allowed him, he says, to amalgamate his practice “with the whole avant-garde in the broad sense”, beyond the borders of cinema, and this, “without the financial pressure that certain American artists could feel. “.
It was thanks in particular to the support of the federal government that Snow was able to produce his other masterpiece, The central region. Shot on the North Shore, nearly 200 kilometers north of Sept-Îles, it shows the uninhabited landscape of the region with as many camera movements and viewpoints as possible, using a camera made custom made. The feature film will close the retrospective at the Cinémathèque on April 14.
“This film is a challenge to produce and becomes a challenge for the viewer,” admits Mr. Lafleur. He is offered to sit down for 180 minutes and become a receptacle who should not expect a message. […] We come to live an experience that leads to questions. It is pure creation. It is abstract and demanding. Not only does Snow reinvent his art, but he also reinvents the place of the spectator. »
Conceptual cinema?
Mr. Lafleur also salutes Michael Snow’s sense of humour, even self-mockery. His films are very difficult to see, and he knew it. In 2003, he even released a shortened version of Wavelenght with an evocative title, which could be translated as follows in French: WVLNT – WAVELENGTH For those who don’t have the time: 45 minutes originally, now 15 minutes!
“It denotes his humor and confirms that his cinema is conceptual,” notes Mr. Lafleur. However, if his cinema is conceptual, why see it in theaters, when we could quite simply have the concept explained to us, precisely?
“We can’t make trailers for Snow’s films,” explains the programmer. It is practically the happening of the projection which takes the place of the film, and the projection in the room is the only possible condition in which one can account for the work. The central region on a small screen, it’s not particularly interesting. »
Five films in all will therefore be presented as part of the Cinémathèque’s retrospective over the next month. In addition to WavelenghtWednesday’s program brings together Breakfast (Table Top Dolly) (1976) and New York Eye and Ear Control (1964), which testifies to Michael Snow’s attachment to music, particularly free jazz. We see in particular his friends Don Cherry and Gary Peacock, as well as his famous figure of The walking woman, which he reproduced in numerous works. On April 8, the feature film Corpus Callosum (2002), which embodies “a condensation of Snow’s eternal obsessions”, according to Mr. Lafleur, will also be presented.