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Genres Genres, movements and visual styles, from film noir to found footage.

Surrealism: Meaning & Definition in Film

A film movement embracing dreamlike imagery and illogical narratives

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Surrealism: Definition

Surrealist cinema rejects rational narrative cohesion in favor of associative imagery, unexpected juxtapositions, and dream logic. This style seeks to tap the unconscious and liberate imagination.

Surrealism: Historical Movement

Influenced by André Breton’s Surrealist manifesto, filmmakers like Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí collaborated on Un Chien Andalou (1929), a landmark short that defied storytelling conventions.

Aesthetic and Techniques

Surrealist films employ jump cuts, montage juxtapositions, and symbolic motifs—eyes, insects, mirrors—to provoke emotional and intellectual responses. Soundscapes often blend discordant audio with silence.

Surrealism: Notable Examples

  • The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), Buñuel’s satire of social hypocrisy
  • David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001), exploring identity through fragmented reality
  • Jan Švankmajer’s animated shorts, melding stop-motion with grotesque surrealism

See the vocabulary at work in real films

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More Genre & Style Terms

Entries filed on the same shelf as Surrealism, each with the one-line answer first. They are the words that usually come up in the same conversation.

All 330 terms

  • 3D

    A stereoscopic technique creating the illusion of depth in film projection.

  • Anime film

    An anime film is a feature-length animated work originating from Japan, characterized by distinctive art styles and thematic depth.

  • Cut-In

    A brief cut into a portion of the action to emphasize a character’s gesture or an object’s movement.

  • Mystery film

    A mystery film centers on uncovering hidden truths or solving a crime through suspenseful investigation.

  • Ensemble film

    An ensemble film features a large cast of characters whose interconnected or parallel storylines contribute to a single, overarching narrative or theme.

  • Musical comedy film

    A hybrid genre combining song, dance, and humor to entertain and advance storyline.