'Un Chien Andalou (1929)' is undeniably important. It's an ahead-of-its-time and daring surrealistic short film with plenty of shocking imagery (especially for the time), some still-impressive visual effects and a difficult-to-nail-down vibe that's at once beguiling and off-putting. However, the thing just isn't all that engaging. Perhaps it's meant to make sense in some way, perhaps it isn't; neither possibility is where its value lies. To me, it does tell a story, yet it does so in a purposefully ambiguous and, even, obtuse way. This wouldn't matter if the piece was emotionally impactful, if you felt it rather than understood it. However, it just isn't all that compelling. You - or, at least, I - neither feel it nor fully understand it, which leaves it in this odd middle ground wherein it's impressive for its technical construction but just a bit dull as an overall experience. Still, it's certainly worth a watch; it has plenty of value. If you can connect with it emotionally, I suspect it will have quite an impact. Even if you can't, it's still wonderfully surreal and inventive. As a quick aside, the 4K version I watched didn't have English intertitles (I'm not even sure if a version with such titles exists), so it's a good job I speak a bit of French. However, the titles aren't all that frequent or, even, important, so don't let that put you off (they're simple enough to just plug into Google translate, too). 6/10.
Review of Un chien andalou
