Many of these films could also be categorised as ‘independent’ or ‘slow cinema’ or ‘experimental’ – and for a brief period in the 1970s, ‘arthouse’ was also a serviceable euphemism for European porn flicks.
Indeed these auteurs – or filmmakers – are particularly important in arthouse, because more than any other kind, these films are a direct, soul-to-screen expression of one individual’s artistry.
From The Red Shoes and Gummo to Moonlight and 8 1/2 It’s not the ‘art’ of a film that makes it ‘arthouse’.
Especially the French, who have no direct translation for ‘arthouse’, referring instead to "film d’auteur".
The 50 best arthouse films of all time, ranked!
