The Blood of a Poet (1932)
"Le sang d'un poète" (original title)

A young artist draws a face at a canvas on his easel. Suddenly the mouth on the drawing comes into life and starts talking. The artist tries to wipe it away with his hand, but when he looks... See full summary »

Director:

Jean Cocteau

Writer:

Jean Cocteau

Stars:

Enrique Rivero, Elizabeth Lee Miller, Pauline Carton

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Enrique Rivero	...	Poet
Elizabeth Lee Miller	...	Statue (as Lee Miller)
Pauline Carton
Odette Talazac
Jean Desbordes	...	Louis XV Friend
Fernand Dichamps
Lucien Jager
Féral Benga	...	Black Angel
Barbette

Storyline

A young artist draws a face at a canvas on his easel. Suddenly the mouth on the drawing comes into life and starts talking. The artist tries to wipe it away with his hand, but when he looks into the hand he finds the living mouth on his palm. He tries to wipe it off on the mouth of an unfinished statue of a young woman. The statue comes into life and tells him that the only way out of the studio is through the looking glass. The artist jumps into the mirror and comes to the Hotel of Dramatic Lunacies. He peeps through the keyholes of a series of hotel rooms. In the last room he sees desperate meetings of hermaphrodites. One of them has a signboard saying "Mortal danger". Back in the studio the artist crushes the statue with a sledgehammer. Because of this he himself becomes a statue, located at the side of a square. Some schoolboys start a snowball fight around the statue. One of the boys is killed by a snowball. A fashionable couple start playing cards at a table beside the corpse. ...

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Plot Keywords:

statue | artist | snowball fight | mirror | hermaphrodite | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

20 May 2010 (Greece)

Also Known As:

The Blood of a Poet

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vicomte de Noailles

Technical Specs

Runtime:

55 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally titled "The Life of a Poet".

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005)

User Reviews

One of the greatest surrealist films ever made, but prior knowledge of the movement is recommended going in

This is an art film, plain and simple. Its one of those surrealist films that has no actual narrative, just a series of seemingly unconnected bizarre sequences. How much you enjoy "Blood of a Poet" depends on how much you appreciate (or have knowledge of) surrealism. Personally, I'm a big fan of the original movement and "Blood of a Poet" is nearly as compelling as either "Un chien andalou" or "Dreams That May Come True". Its beautiful, lyrical, and highly emotional and personal (if completely abstract). Its as close as cinema can get to actual poetry. Jean Cocteau has created a truly magnificent piece of work.

This is similar to many other surrealist films in that fact you're not supposed to get it. You're supposed to understand the emotion the artist puts into his work and the meaning (if there is any) is entirely open to interpretation. Similar to "El Topo" and "Eraserhead", the meaning isn't clear but the feeling completely comes through. Unlike those two previously mentioned films, "Blood of a Poet" is a decidedly more lighthearted work despite some (rather shocking for the time) violence. If you're into surrealism, by all means check out "Blood of a Poet". I certainly enjoyed it, but I couldn't wholeheartedly recommend it to most moviegoers. (8/10)