Venom and Eternity

Venom and Eternity, also known as "Traité de bave et d'éternité," is a revolutionary and highly experimental French film released in 1951. A cult masterpiece that juggles the art of storytelling with groundbreaking narrative techniques, it was written, directed, and starred by an avant-garde artist and theorist Isidore Isou. Jean-Louis Barrault and Blanchette Brunoy also lend their talents to this compelling piece.

Though Venom and Eternity defies conventional summarization, its thematic artistry offers up a mesmerizing spectacle that is both bizarre and brilliantly unconventional. In essence, it is not just a movie, but an artistic manifesto that seeks to challenge conventional norms of cinema, effectively pushing the boundaries of film making into unchartered territories. An audacious tour de force, the film embodies Isou’s vision of 'Lettrism', his invented art movement - turning it from theory into practice.

The plot orbits around a young avant-garde poet, played by Isou himself, who falls madly in love with a desirable woman. This narrative of the love interest becomes the movie's primary thread, albeit sparsely interspersed throughout the movie's complex sequence of events. The poet grapples with his intense feelings while simultaneously navigating the intricacies of his own personal introspection and achieving poetic sublimity. Intense romantic allure and internal soul-searching converge to shape the character's poignant journey towards truth and self-discovery.

Contrasting the minimalist plot is the film's progressive technique and form. Isou ingeniously manipulates audio-visual components through 'Discrepant Cinema' - a unique style he pioneered - in which there is a marked discordance between the audio narration and visual presentation. Sequences and narratives overlap, creating a disjointed viewing experience that invites audiences to rethink the limitations of traditional film synchronization.

Characterized by stark visual experiments, Venom and Eternity also challenges the aesthetic norms of cinema. The images oscillate between documentary-style film footage and illustrated pictures, mixing up montage and superimposed still images. An intentional degradation of the film image and the manipulation of film stock push the boundaries of visual artistry, hinting at the potent venom of societal convention and the everlasting allure of aesthetic expression or eternity, as brought out by the film's title.

The actors do a splendid job enlivening Isou's complex vision. Known for his performances in classic films like "Children of Paradise," Jean-Louis Barrault delivers an electric performance. Blanchette Brunoy complements Barrault's competent acting with her enchanting on-screen presence. But it's Isou who truly stands out, embodying a character consumed by passionate love and consumed by poetic vision.

What's more, the film's radicalism extends to its soundscape as well, with audio fragments from street noises to overlaid dialogues to silent stretches, bolstering the discordance between the film's image and sound. This intricate noise collage further accentuates the film's status as a disorienting visual and auditory experience.

Venom and Eternity earned wide acclaim for its innovative style and won the Prix du Film Maudit, translated as the 'Cursed Film Award' which was a commendation for the most original and creative film of the time. While the film sparked controversy in its daring deviation from conventions, its unconventional approach palpably resonates throughout the world of avant-garde cinema.

In the years following its release, the film has come to be considered a classic example of experimental cinema and marked the birth of the Lettrist movement in film. It stands as a watershed moment in the 20th century cinema, pushing its boundaries with the sheer audacity that continues to inspire artists today.

All in all, Venom and Eternity is an audacious, forward-thinking film that is as much a piece of art as it is a cinematic piece. It’s an invitation to explore the visibility of the invisible, the symbiotic relationship between vision and sound, and the relationship between the artist and society - an eye-opening exploration into the limitless potential of film art. For those who are open-minded and willing to delve into the abstract and the avant-garde, this movie is a rewarding experience. It speaks to the viewer on a subtle, experiential level, transcending from mere visual storytelling to an entirely different plane of artistic communication.