Dante Quartet, in my eyes, is a quintessential experimental film; it is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Lasting 6 minutes split into 4 parts and with no sound, this film appeared initially to follow no form. The filmmaker experimented with the medium itself, using varying paces throughout the film to make the audience feel different emotions. Made up of merely flashing photos of different splattered paints, it was highly confronting.
Yet as the film went on, I began to see the abstract form. Within the shapes and colors of the film, it began to make images. Within “Purgation” the shapes made a person wearing sunglasses, which after minutes of viewing the same thing was a surprise, a confronting one that I didn’t expect.The film continued to do so during the end, shapes making up images for a second or so and then moving on. This abstract organization did not make a plot, it can be classified as more of a poetic expression, but still an interesting reverie.
Following on from the readings argument, that some critics see experimental film as “arts for art’s sake” which most of the time I agree with, this film was enjoyable to watch in its abstractness. The fact that it did not adhere to mainstream principles of film makes it experimental, and a very interesting watch.
