Minimalist film is related to the art and philosophy of minimalism with films.
In film, minimalism usually is associated with filmmakers such as Robert Bresson, Chantal Akerman, Carl Theodor Dreyer, and Yasujirō Ozu. Their films typically tell a simple story with straightforward camera usage and minimal use of score. Paul Schrader named their kind of cinema: "transcendental cinema". [1]
Currently a commitment to minimalist filmmaking can be seen in film movements such as Dogme 95, mumblecore, and the Romanian New Wave. Abbas Kiarostami, [2] Elia Suleiman, [3] and Kelly Reichardt are also considered minimalist filmmakers.
This type of film includes the works of directors like:
| Year | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | The Passion of Joan of Arc [38] | Carl Theodor Dreyer |
| 1940 | Dots | Norman McLaren |
| 1946 | Paisan [39] | Roberto Rossellini |
| 1948 | Rope [40] | Alfred Hitchcock |
| 1949 | I Shot Jesse James [41] | Samuel Fuller |
| 1949 | Begone Dull Care [42] | Evelyn Lambart and Norman McLaren |
| Year | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Gerald McBoing Boing [43] | Robert Cannon |
| 1953 | Monsieur Hulot's Holiday [44] | Jacques Tati |
| The Tell Tale Heart [45] | Ted Parmelee | |
| Tokyo Story [46] | Yasujirō Ozu | |
| 1954 | Billy Boy [47] | Tex Avery |
| 1955 | The Big Combo [48] | Joseph H. Lewis |
| Ordet [49] | Carl Theodore Dreyer | |
| 1956 | A Man Escaped [50] | Robert Bresson |
| The Red Balloon [51] | Albert Lamorisse | |
| 1957 | 12 Angry Men [52] | Sidney Lumet |
| 1958 | Elevator to the Gallows [53] | Louis Malle |
| 1959 | Plan 9 from Outer Space [54] | Ed Wood |
| Year | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Surogat [55] | Dušan Vukotić |
| 1962 | An Autumn Afternoon [56] | Yasujirō Ozu |
| Eegah [57] | Arch Hall Sr. | |
| 1963 | Winter Light [58] | Ingmar Bergman |
| 1964 | Diamonds of the Night [59] | Jan Němec |
| Fail Safe [60] | Sidney Lumet | |
| Red Desert [61] | Michelangelo Antonioni | |
| 1966 | Au hasard Balthazar [62] | Robert Bresson |
| 1967 | Mouchette [63] | |
| Wavelength [64] [65] | Michael Snow | |
| 1968 | The Fly [66] | Vladimir Jutrisa and Aleksandar Marks |
| 2001: A Space Odyssey [67] | Stanley Kubrick | |
| Surface Tension [68] | Hollis Frampton | |
| 1969 | Bambi Meets Godzilla [69] | Marv Newland |
| Lemon [70] | Hollis Frampton |
| Year | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Friend of the World [164] [165] | Brian Patrick Butler |
| If Anything Happens I Love You [166] | Will McCormack and Michael Govier | |
| Minari | Lee Isaac Chung | |
| Nomadland [167] [168] | Chloé Zhao | |
| Wolfwalkers [169] | Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart | |
| The Woman Who Ran [170] [171] | Hong Sang-soo | |
| 2021 | Belfast [172] | Kenneth Branagh |
| The Tragedy of Macbeth [173] [174] | Joel Coen | |
| Pig [175] | Michael Sarnoski | |
| 2022 | Marcel the Shell with Shoes On [176] | Dean Fleischer Camp |
| My Year of Dicks | Sara Gunnarsdóttir | |
| Saint Omer [177] | Alice Diop | |
| Tár [178] | Todd Field | |
| Women Talking [179] | Sarah Polley | |
| 2023 | Fallen Leaves [180] [181] | Aki Kaurismäki |
| Past Lives [182] | Celine Song | |
| Perfect Days [183] | Wim Wenders | |
| Robot Dreams [184] | Pablo Berger | |
| Showing Up | Kelly Reichardt | |
| 2024 | All We Imagine as Light [185] | Payal Kapadia |
| Flow [186] | Gints Zilbalodis | |
| In the Shadow of the Cypress [187] | Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani |
