''Emak Bakia''Various recent sources in English hyphenate the title (''Emak-Bakia''). (

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

for Leave me alone; full title: ''Emak Bakia (CInépoème) (Fichez-moi la paix)')'' is a 1926 French surrealist short

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, although his t ...

. Termed as a c''inépoème'' (cinematic poem) by its author, it features many techniques Man Ray used in his still photography (for which he is better known), including

Rayographs A photogram is a photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a light-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light. The usual result is a negative shadow image t ...

double exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be ide ...

soft focus In photography, soft focus is a lens flaw, in which the lens forms images that are blurred due to spherical aberration. A soft focus lens deliberately introduces spherical aberration in order to give the appearance of blurring the image while ...

and ambiguous features.

Synopsis

''Emak Bakia'' shows elements of fluid mechanical motion in parts, rotating artifacts showing his ideas of everyday objects being extended and rendered useless. Kiki of Montparnasse (

Alice Prin Alice Ernestine Prin (2 October 1901 – 29 April 1953), nicknamed the ''Queen of Montparnasse'' and often known as ''Kiki de Montparnasse'', was a French model, chanteuse, actress, memoirist and painter during the Jazz Age. She flourished ...

) is shown driving a car in a scene through a town. Towards the middle of the film

Jacques Rigaut Jacques Rigaut (; 30 December 1898 – 9 November 1929) was a French surrealist poet. Born in Paris, he was part of the Dadaist movement. His works frequently talked about suicide and he came to regard its successful completion as his occupation. ...

appears dressed in female clothing and make-up. Later in the film a caption appears: "''La raison de cette extravagance''" (the reason for this extravagance). The film then cuts to a car arriving and a passenger leaving with briefcase entering a building, opening the case revealing men's shirt collars which he proceeds to tear in half. The collars are then used as a focus for the film, rotating through double exposures.

Production

The film features sculptures by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, and some of

's mathematical objects both still and animated using a

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

technique. Originally a silent film, recent copies have been dubbed using music taken from

's personal record collection of the time. The musical reconstruction was led by Jacques Guillot.

Release

When the film was first exhibited at the Vieux Colombier theatre, a man in the audience stood up to complain it was giving him a headache and hurting his eyes. Another man told him to shut up, and they both started to fight. The theatre turned into a frenzy, the fighting ended up out in the street, and the police were called in to stop the riot.

Legacy

In 2012, Spanish director Oskar Alegria directed a feature-length documentary film ''La Casa Emak Bakia'' which details his search for the house where ''Emak Bakia'' was filmed.

Notes

References

Sources

Chris Dashiell, ''Flicks'' (March 2001)

External links

*
Downloadable version of the film at ubu.com
{{Man Ray 1926 films Films directed by Man Ray French silent short films French black-and-white films 1920s French films Surrealist films Non-narrative films Pablo Picasso