What Is Poetic Realism Film Movement? The Complete Guide

Poetic realism is a kind of realistic drama that has poetic or allegorical elements. It was a film movement that was most popular in 1940s France and was led by the celebrated French filmmaker, Jean Renoir.

Poetic realism is a type of art that aims to capture the essence of reality, while at the same time, aiming to go beyond mere reality and depict certain feelings, moods, and truths.

This movement’s main aim is to display the world as it is, while still making it more beautiful than reality itself.
 

 The poetic realism film movement started in France with Jean Vigo’s Zero for Conduct in 1933 and concluded with Marcel Carné’s Le Quai des brumes in 1938.

In between, the movement created some of the most memorable films of all time, including:

• Carné & Jacques Prévert’s Le Jour se lève and Les Enfants du paradis,
• Vigo’s L’Atalante,Pierre Chenal’s Pépé le Moko,
• Julien Duvivier’s Pépé le Moko and La Belle Équipe, andRenoir’s La Grande Illusion.

What Is The Poetic Realism Film Movement?

The term “poetic realism” originated in France. It was first used to describe works of literature written by authors such as Villon and Ronsard. 

These writers wrote about themes such as love, death, religion and politics in an eloquent yet realistic manner.

They believed that good literature should be both beautiful and relevant to real life experiences. Poetic realism’s influence on cinema began in 1943 when Jean Renoir released his film titled La Vie en Rose.

This movie depicted the life of legendary French singer Edith Piaf in a very stylized manner. It presented a highly idealized version of her life but one that was still strikingly realistic at the same time.

Waxing Poetic

The other day, a customer came in for a haircut and asked me if I waxed. I did not  know what she was talking about, so I said “no.” She explained that she wanted me to wax her eyebrows.

 I have never heard of waxing someone’s eyebrows. I always thought it was something women did to their legs.

She continued to explain that it was a way of shaping someone’s eyebrows by removing hair from the eyebrow follicles with hot wax. Another customer walked in, and she told him about her desire to get her eyebrows waxed. 

She asked him if he would mind if I did it for her. He said okay.

I had never done this before, but I went out and bought some wax and strips to see how it was done. It took me a while to read the instructions on how to use the stuff, but after a while I got the hang of it, and then I tried it on myself.

It really hurt! I think my face turned bright red with pain! But once the wax was set, my eyebrows looked great! 

The next day I had one of my custoers come in with his girlfriend for a haircut, and he asked how much we charged for eyebrow waxing.

Poetic Realism Directors

Poetic realism (also known as poetic naturalism) is a mode of representation and an attitude in literature that depicts the quotidian and ordinary while also evoking a sense of the numinous or transcendent.

Poetic realism attempts to reconcile contradictory subjects, such as pleasure and pain, hope and despair, beauty and ugliness, good and evil. The term was first used by the art critic Jean-François Lyotard to describe the fiction of William Faulkner.

The term “poetic” refers to the tendency to focus on an individual’s subjective perception of reality; similarly, “realism” refers to the depiction of everyday life in a manner that suggests authenticity. Both aspects are captured in the broader concept of verismo .

Poetic realism attempts to portray characters sympathetically, without polarizing the audience into partisans for or against them. It is often reserved for certain genres or types of subject matter. 

For example, it may be associated with literary works that suggest a broadly humanistic worldview rather than centering on one character’s psychology or social hierarchy.

Poetic realism is usually not a strictly defined style, but rather a characteristic of some works rather than others. It can be found in many films such as A Tree Grows in.

Poetic Film Movement On-Screen Talent

Poetic Film Movement is a movement of filmmakers and performers that seeks to explore the more poetic side of cinema. PFM has been around for over 30 years, but only recently has it become known to a larger audience.

This could be due to the popularity of social media and PFM’s use of this medium to share their poetry. The PFM movement has grown, especially over the last decade, and now includes many talented writers, poets, and filmmakers from around the world.

The goal of PFM is not only to create art by exploring different styles and forms of poetry, but also to provide a space in which they can share these talents with others who are interested in their work.

The group encourages all levels of artists to connect with them through social media and even host screenings for new works. Many aspiring filmmakers have found ways to get their foot in the door through this growing community.

 By joining this on-screen talent, many have gained access to tools for improving and developing their careers in film.

PFM helps out many aspiring filmmakers with networking opportunities across social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. They also have an active blog where they discuss upcoming events and new projects that help spread their unique message.

History Of The Documentary Film Movement

The documentary film movement is a style of filmmaking that presents a subjective point of view in which the filmmaker may select, arrange and edit the events depicted. It is used to increase the level of reality and thereby create more impact on the audience.

This style of filmmaking should not be confused with docudrama, which is a work that combines fictional elements with documentary footage or pseudo-documentary, which uses actors to re-enact events in  documentary film.

The documentary film movement began as early as 1916 with films such as Joris Ivens’ “Misery Over The Ocean”, Man with a Movie Camera by Dziga Vertov and Nanook of the North by Robert Flaherty.

However, these films were more concerned with recording events that they happened to witness or had been given permission to film rather than exploring the subjective point of view of the filmmaker. This changed when Louis Lumière released his first films recording people going about their daily lives in 1895.

   

The popularity of Lumière’s films grew quickly since people were able to see representations of themselves for the first time on screen. By 1902, films made up half of everything shown at fairs throughout France and within another decade similar amounts were being shown in public halls and music halls.

Poetic Realism Film Movement Films

Poetic realism, or poetic documentary, was a film movement. It was a reaction to Italian Neorealism, which had dominated Italian filmmaking since the late 1940s. Poetic realism films were both realistic and poetic, two qualities not usually found in the same film.

Poetic realism films are characterized by their strong focus on people and their feelings, while at the same time their characters often inhabit an illusory world of dreams and desires. Many of these films have a nostalgic feel, reminiscent of the cinema of the 1930s. 

The genre was particularly useful in the development of French New Wave Cinema.

The term “poetic realism” was first coined by André Bazin in 1954 in his article “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français” (“A Certain Trend in French Cinema”). Bazin was actually referring to some American films of this era such as Johnny Guitar (1954) and On Dangerous Ground (1951).

A careful look at his article shows that it is not about a movement but rather about a tendency or feeling common to several directors in this period which he tries to define more closely. It is only later that we can speak of a real movement linked to this tendency.

Poetic Realism Film Movement Theory

Poetic Realism is a film movement that began with the French New Wave. This movement started in the late 1950’s and continued into the early 1960’s. 

Poetic Realism was originally coined to describe a French film by Jean Renoir, entitled The Rules of the Game.

Tone and Mood: Poetic Realism films are characterized by a tone and mood that captures common everyday people, usually in working class environments. Though some of these films include aspects of fantasy (like color and sound).

Poetic Realism can be considered a more realistic fiction genre unlike other kinds of movies. 

Characterization, Plot and Setting:The characters that are portrayed in these films are usually common people, usually one or two main characters. There will also be a more minor character who has some sort of relationship with the main characters that may not be overtly specified by the writer/director.

The plot is fairly simple; it may be as simple as an individual realizing something about himself or herself, or it could be as complex as an entire family dynamic being shown throughout the duration of the movie. Due to being shot on location, Poetic Realism movies would have a naturalistic setting to them.

Importance Of Poetic Realism Film Movement

Poetic Realism is a movement in the film industry that emerged in France during the 1940s after World War 2, and which subsequently spread to other European countries. It is considered as the most important trend in French cinema between the wars and was a precursor to the French New Wave of the 1950s.

Poetic Realism is closely linked with Italian Neo-Realism, before they became distinct movements. It is characterized by humanist themes, stylish black-and-white photography, non-professional actors, and emphasis on everyday life.

Its aim was to make films more poetic (hence the name) and more realistic. The innovative style of both directors and actors was matched by a social realism which tended to present characters not from their best side, but from a more authentic representation of reality.

Poetic realism films focus on common people who are often ill-fated as well as lonely or isolated because they feel trapped by their circumstances in life. A common theme is that of failing relationships among all classes of society.

The main exponents were Robert Bresson, Jean Cocteau, Marcel Carné, Jacques Tati and the Dreyer brothers (Carl Th. Dreyer & Gabriel Axel). Films that are representative of Poetic Realism.

The End Of Poetic Realism Film Movement

The End of Poetic Realism Film Movement is the most important film movement to ever occur. It was the last period in which film was a medium for pure art, not just another Hollywood blockbuster.

This movement was born out of the fact that art and life is supposed to be mysterious and even humorous at times. Poetic Realism’s end started when a group of people became tired of one-dimensional characters, unrealistic plots, predictable endings, and unrealistic dialogue.

They wanted to go back to the days where people could enjoy a movie without knowing everything that would happen before they got there. The people from this movement wanted to bring poetry back into their films as well as realism.

In order to keep it realistic, they had only natural lighting; this brought out the colors and gave it a more intimate feeling for the audience. They also made sure that all props were real instead of fake looking ones used in other movies during this time period (such as cardboard guns).

These three elements were essential in keeping their films true to life while also being able to capture an audience’s attention through imagery and symbolism rather than dialogue alone. They also brought back old techniques that used less editing, like the long take; this allowed them more time to adjust the lighting and setting before shooting.