Arabesque for Kenneth Anger (1961) User Reviews

a mixed bag

[framptonhollis · 5/10 · 7 August 2017]

I have been eager to see some of Marie Menken's many experimental films for a while now and I decided to finally watch her 1961 work "Arabesque for Kenneth Anger", a brief short that, for some reason, I hadn't gotten to watching yet until just a few minutes ago. I mainly chose it because the great Kenneth Anger's name is in the title, although I'm not exactly sure why that is since this doesn't feel like a tribute to his work and I cannot really see any other hypothetical reason for his name to be included in the title. I'll probably have to do some research a little later, because, other than this being an experimental and plot less film, "Arabesque for Kenneth Anger" has pretty much nothing to do with Kenneth Anger, and it is nowhere near as good as any of Anger's films either. Don't get me wrong, it's an okay little film if you're into avant garde cinema, but it is, essentially, just your standard experimental affair. There are some beautiful visuals, some messy ones, some nauseating ones, some unique ones, and then it just kind of ends. There is nothing remotely resembling any plot or structure here, it's completely abstract and far removed from the bounds of mainstream cinema, so obviously not everyone is going to enjoy it, but it's short enough to avoid tediousness for practically any audience, and it's worth a watch if you're interested enough, although you could skip it even if you're a huge fan of avant garde cinema and not have missed out on much.

She must have been a fan

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 13 May 2016]

The title already says what American filmmaker Marie Menken's intention must have been with "Arabesque for Kenneth Anger": namely make a tribute for one of her most inspiring artists. It is funny how she is considerably older than Anger himself. As for the film itself, it runs for under 5 minutes and is experimental from start to finish. I thought it was an okay watch, but I am not a great fan of experimental films in general, which is why I probably did not enjoy it as much as you may if you like the genre more than I do, which is not too difficult. I must say I am not familiar with other works by Menken I think, but I will certainly check them out at some point. Overall, a thumbs down for this one here, but like I said this has more to do with me than with the film itself.