A young poet/artist works in his studio sketching the portait of a face. He witnesses the portrait's mouth move by itself. He wipes it off with his hand to no avail as now the mouth is attached to his palm. Eventually this mouth transfers from his palm to a statue in the room, telling the poet/artist to enter the mirror, which transports him into another universe or dimension. Jean Cocteau's debut film, The Blood of a Poet, is a journey into a surreal avante-garde realm that seems to be a pesonal commentary on the trails and tribulations of the artistic process. The most impressive thing about The Blood of A Poet is its hypnotic imagery in creating this world which is beautiful, frightening and whimsical all at once. The artistic merit of Cocteau's films is just memerizing and from a purely visual standpoint, The Blood of A Poet, may be his most impressive. The creativity in which Cocteau infuses his film with such unique imagery is great but the film never really grabbed a hold of me much from an emotional standpoint. There really is no narrative in this film, but I believe Cocteau was touching on the mental anguish and exuberance which exists during the artistic process. Artists are rather self-absored creatures and Cocteau seems to focus on their inability to seperate their creative process with the outside universe. We see now an artistis blood, sweat and tears can be looked at as merely entertainment to the general public and it's a very interesting viewpoint. Unlike Cocteau's Orpheus that blends breathtaking imagery with story to perfection, The Blood of Poetic is simply a visual ballet of image that while fascinating, doesn't carry the same emotional weight or linear focus as some of his later films. 8/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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