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In Search of Surrealism in Alex van Warmerdam’s Borgman Painting of Alex van Warmerdam by Maurice Braspenning A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of 'MA Media Studies: Film Studies' from the University of Amsterdam in the 2016-2017 academic year, submitted on June 26th 2017. Student number: 10276165 Master Thesis of student: Floor Wijers University of Amsterdam Thesis Supervisor: dr. M.A.M.B. Lous Baronian 26 June 2017 Second Reader: dr. B. Joret [email protected] Wordcount: 17660 ABSTRACT In this thesis the work of Dutch contemporary filmmaker Alex van Warmerdam is being analysed into the light of Surrealism. By doing so, the aim is to use Surrealism as an instrument to analyse film. The main focus is to explore to what extent there is a correlation between Alex van Wamerdam’s work and Surrealism. Mainly his film Borgman is used as a case study. In this thesis, the link between Surrealism and Cinema is considered as specific ‘category of interpretation,’ to reveal the surrealistic aspects in Borgman. In addition to this, I discussed Borgman with the involvement of surrealistic concepts, like black humour and mad love, to argue that the surrealistic identity can still be represented in film culture. Key words: Contemporary Dutch cinema, Alex van Warmerdam, Surrealism, disorientating cinema, black humour, mad love, Borgman (2013) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT There are some people I am grateful for and who deserve some extra attention. Without them I would not be able to write this thesis. First of all I want to thank Marie-Aude Baronian for her strict deadlines, critical feedback and great patience with me. Besides that, especially I want to thank Frietson Galis for her support, and taking the time to read through all of my work, give useful remarks and helping me to improve my English. Also my mom, dad and girlfriend deserve some respect for the sweet attention they gave me. Finally, I want to thank the in Leiden based Dutch artist Maurice Braspenning for his permission to use his artwork of Alex van Warmerdam, on the front cover of my thesis. 2 CONTENTS: INTRODUCTION 5-7 CHAPTER 1. SURREALISM: ORIGINS, KEY IDEAS AND ART MOVEMENT AND THE CINEMATIC INVOLVEMENT 8-23 1.1– Surrealism: origins and characteristics 8-10 1.2– Surrealism: key ideas 10-15 1.3– Surrealism: the art movement 15-18 1.4– Surrealism and Cinema 19-23 CHAPTER 2. ALEX VAN WARMERDAM AS A DESIGNER 24-35 2.1– Artistic background 24-27 2.2– Alex van Warmerdam’s uncompromised attitude 28-31 2.3– Alex van Warmerdam’s creations 31-35 CHAPTER 3. THE DARK SURREALISTIC EVIDENCE IN VAN WARMERDAM’S BORGMAN 36-51 3.1– Greenaway, Lynch and van Warmerdam: Strange encounters 36-39 3.2– The devil is in the details 39-43 3.3– You want it darker? Black humour, mad love in Borgman 43-51 3 4. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED 52-56 5. SOURCES: 57-59 5.1– Bibliography 57-58 5.2– Filmography 59 4 INTRODUCTION: The central object of study of this thesis will be the work of contemporary Dutch filmmaker Alex van Warmerdam. In the Dutch film culture, van Warmerdam is known for his unconventional approach of filmmaking. This attitude makes him very successful, as can be seen from the impressive record of national and international prizes.1 His films are one of a kind, and often his signature is immediately recognizable. On the one hand, the films of van Warmerdam give me a feeling of discomfort. They are often quite melodramatically, and there is a lot that goes wrong in the lives of his characters. On the other hand, I like that his films are highly unpredictable, containing a lot of unexpected twists and turns, and especially events are putted into a mysterious context. Besides, there is a lot of dry-comic humour included in his films. These contradictory aspects build up tension and a feeling of alienation. Surrealism is an art movement, in which the unexpectedness plays an important role. It stimulates to reflect upon daily live, and reveals certain layers, which are usually hidden, like desires, anxieties, imagination and dreams. Also these characteristics cause an estranging feeling. The aim of this thesis is to explore the relationship between Surrealism and the films of van Warmerdam. In many critical reviews about the films of van Warmerdam the term surreal is often being used. Especially his feature film Borgman (2013) is often being linked to an understanding of surreality. A striking theme in Borgman is the dream state. In Borgman a strange encounter with an evil intruder disrupts the comfortable live of a middle class family. This results into strange circumstances, wherein dreams and reality are mixed up. I will discuss Borgman as a case study, but I will also refer to other films of his oeuvre and, additionally will discuss some of his theatre work. Since there are many significant indistinguishable characteristics in the work of van Warmerdam. To provide legitimacy to the assumption of 1 His first two feature films Abel (1986) and De Noorderlingen (1992) won Golden Calfs for best Dutch Film and best directing. De Jurk (1996) won the jury prize of Venice Film Festival. Borgman (2013) was selected at the official selection of Cannes Film Festival. 5 surrealism in his work, I will take a closer look at the conditions of the relationship between Surrealism and cinema. A much debated and controversial question in the field of Film studies is whether there is such a thing as a Surrealistic film? Recently, a lot of literature has emerged that offers contradictory findings about cinema and Surrealism. (Richardson’s Surrealism and Cinema, Harper and Stones The Unsilvered Screen, Everette’s “Screen as a Thresfold” and Moines “From Surrealist Cinema to Surrealism in Cinema.”) Therefore, it is important to find the right balance, between films that are made as belonging to the surrealist movement and films that contain surrealistic aspects. To determine if the oeuvre of van Warmerdam, and most of all the film Borgman, can be defined as surrealistic, I will first try to explain more about the discussion about Surrealism and cinema in the literature. Therefore, we have to first question whether surrealistic films do exist. Secondly, if there is indeed such a thing as a surrealistic film, can Borgman be defined as a surrealistic film? Or if there is not such a thing as the surrealistic film, is there any indication of the influence of Surrealism in the films of Alex van Warmerdam, and for the most part in Borgman? As a starting point I will try to make clear what Surrealism is, to get to the essence of the Surrealist movement. The main focus is at the beginning of the movement, and to its relevance in contemporary culture and cinema culture. First I will outline the ontology of the movement, which emerges from Dadaism. Then I will point out the key ideas that are presented in the Surrealist Manifesto of André Breton, which are closely related to the psychoanalytical Freudian theories. Lastly I will describe the involvement of Surrealism into cinema and the problems that occur, when Surrealism and cinema are being related with each other. In this chapter I will provide a framework, which allows investigation of the connection between van Warmerdam’s films and Surrealism. His continuous shifting between theatre and cinema plays an important role in his film style. Therefore, I begin with his background, which is deeply imbedded in the Dutch theatre culture. In the next part the uncompromising attitude of van Warmerdam is the point of focus. Most of all van Warmerdam tries to be in control of all facets of filmmaking. This results to films with a 6 specific nature. In the last part of this chapter I try to put into words what van Warmerdam’s cinematic world looks like. Before starting with analysing the film Borgman, make a comparison of van Warmerdam with David Lynch and Peter Greenaway, some of the most well known contemporary filmmakers who are also often linked to Surrealism. This comparison allows me to make the association between Surrealism and the work of van Warmerdam more convincing. To succeed in my plan to connect Surrealism with van Warmerdam’s films, I will closely analyse his film Borgman, from a surrealistic perspective. In the end, it is not my aim to just qualify Borgman and the oeuvre of van Warmerdam as surrealistic. My main intention is to investigate the surrealistic influence and by doing so, to add more substance in general to an understanding of the relationship between Surrealism and film. In this way, I hope to increase the knowledge about, on the one hand, Surrealism itself and, on the other hand, the work of Alex van Warmerdam. Figure 1: Comic about Surrealism by Grant Snyder2 2 More comics can be find at: http://www.incidentalcomics.com/2012/02/art- of-living.html?m=1 7 CHAPTER 1. SURREALISM: ORIGINS, KEY IDEAS AND ART MOVEMENT, AND THE CINEMATIC INVOLVEMENT “I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality, which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a surreality, if one may so speak.” - André Breton, Manifesto of Surrealism, 1924. There are many expositions at the moment on Surrealism and abundant attention for Surrealism in the art world and in literature.3 Looking at the parallels between the current threats of the political situation and the interbellum of the 20th century, the revived interest in Surrealism is indeed understandable and highly relevant.

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