A humorous cinematic poem attempting to capture all the images and associations of carnival, which dissolve into each other in the dreams of a young man who has just returned from an evening at the fair. There is no plot, each image suggesting the one to follow. This is one of the most celebrated of French avant-garde films. Made originally for a ballet called “Relache” (i.e. performance suspended) it was thus a joke within a joke - an entr’acte or intermission in a non-existent performance. No spoken word, this film’s story was written by Francis Picabia with music by Erik Satie
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
003334
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Avant-garde (Aesthetics)
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Surrealism in motion pictures
Crafts & Visual Arts → Art and motion pictures
Crafts & Visual Arts → Avant-garde (Aesthetics)
Crafts & Visual Arts → Modernism (Art)
Crafts & Visual Arts → Surrealism
Crafts & Visual Arts → Surrealism in motion pictures
Experimental → Experimental films - France
Music & Performing Arts → Ballets - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)