I would argue that Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001) could be said to be influenced by Soviet Constructivism Cinema; as it plays with themes of unidentified knowledge which is explored through characters and ideas with/of prior knowledge. Though it is heavily reliant on more gothic aspects of the Sci-Fi genre, it appears that there is a focus throughout the narrative on explanations grounded in science and human belief. Much like films of the original era, Donnie Darko allows its audience to understand the arc of the plot using modern ideas, and not philosophical or fantastical theories. Using mostly more objective editing, (though there are some scenes which bring into question the fabrication of reality) Kelly seems to imply that the eccentricity of the story is a product of human curiosity rather than the supernatural, and depends on what people ‘already know to be true’. Cooler overtones like blue and grey also suggest objective reality, as they are thematically more often associated with logic or lack of emotion.  

Shutter Island (Scorsese, 2010) – tonal montage to indicate protagonist’s false reality/subjective reality (use of blues/greys when audience is submerged in Teddy’s reality) 

Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960) – rhythmic montage to dramatize and emphasise the content of the scene (to associate this series of events with a musical climax for the audience) 

Inception (Nolan, 2010) – intellectual montage is used as a metaphor (aided by the context of the film itself) to indicate to the audience that there is still a question of dream vs reality, and introduces the idea that people are controlled by an unspoken force (whether fate or a higher power etc.) just as the fabrication of dreams is controlled by the presence of gravity.  

According to a source (https://nofilmschool.com/what-is-the-french-new-wave#:~:text=Techniques%20included%20fragmented%2C%20discontinuous%20editing,French%20New%20Wave%20was%20born.) ‘Techniques included fragmented, discontinuous editing, and long takes that allowed actors to explore a scene. The combination of realism, subjectivity, and commentary allowed these movies to have ambiguous characters, motives, and even endings that were not so clear-cut’. 

‘The “right bank” group is constituted of the more famous and financially successful New Wave directors associated with Cahiers du cinéma (Claude Chabrol, François Truffaut, and Jean-Luc Godard). Unlike the Cahiers group, Left Bank directors were older and less movie-crazed. They tended to see cinema akin to other arts, such as literature. However, they were similar to the New Wave directors in that they practiced cinematic modernism. Their emergence also came in the 1950s and they also benefited from the youthful audience. The two groups, however, were not in opposition…… The filmmakers tended to collaborate with one another’. 

Source – (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_New_Wave#:~:text=to%20do%20essays.%22-,Left%20Bank,older%20and%20less%20movie%2Dcrazed.) 

The 400 Blows (1959, François Truffaut) 

Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962, Agnès Varda) 

Vivre Sa Vie (1962, Jean-Luc Godard) 

His contribution to the auteur theory centers on his notion of the caméra-stylo or “camera-pen” and the idea that directors should wield their cameras like writers use their pens. 

(source – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Astruc) 

EXAMPLES: 

(Alfred Hitchcock) 

(Psycho (1960)) 

(Vertigo (1958)) 

(Rear Window (1954)) 

(signature use of light/shadows and close ups of characters when there is a suspicious or ominous atmosphere) 

Name at least 3 other films identified by critics as classic Constructivist films (ILLUSTRATE YOUR POST!) 

Six Girls Seeking Shelter (Hans Behrendt, 1927) 

Miss Mend (Boris Barnet, Fedor Ozep, 1926) 

The screw from another machine (Aleksandr Talanov, 1926) 

Since 1986, the school has been named after the film director and actor Sergei Gerasimov. A full member of the international CILECT network of film schools, the Institute became a university in 2008.  

More recently, its alumni were drawn both from the USSR (Soviet Union) and from other socialist and other countries, though it was a requirement for students to first learn Russian prior to attending. It is among the few film schools which offer scriptwriting courses. 

(SOURCE – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerasimov_Institute_of_Cinematography) 

Constructivists proposed to replace art’s traditional concern with composition with a focus on construction 

Objects were to be created not in order to express beauty, or the artist’s outlook, or to represent the world, but to carry out a fundamental analysis of the materials and forms of art, one which might lead to the design of functional objects. 

Design for the Monument to the Third International (1919-20) 

Artist: Vladimir Tatlin 

Pure Red Color, Pure Yellow Color, Pure Blue Color (1921) 

Artist: Alexander Rodchenko 

(SOURCE – https://www.theartstory.org/movement/constructivism/) 

‘The declaration of war against Germany brought an abrupt end to commercial exchanges with the country. On the eve of the conflict, nearly 90 percent of film productions shown in Russia had come from abroad. The conflicts on land and over sea disrupted film distribution circuits. This was an extraordinary opportunity for an industry in which branches of the large French companies, somewhat Russianized, impeded their autonomy; in which studios bearing German sounding names were threatened (e.g. the Baltic Pavel Thiemann); and in which Russian entrepreneurs strove to fill the empty screens. The numbers speak for themselves: from 129 short and medium length films in 1913, national production rose to 230 in 1914, to 370 in 1915, and then to 500 in 1916.’

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/a09cb711-c667-4eb5-8095-e2e9e5b395ba?list=studio