List of feature films described as non-narrative

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The distinction between non-narrative film and "narrative films" can be rather vague and is open for interpretation. Few filmmakers would define their works as non-narrative. The following list contains films which have been described as "non-narrative" by independent sources.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
Title Year Country Director(s) Cinematographer(s) Music Ref(s)
13 Lakes 2004 United States James Benning James Benning [1][2]
23rd Psalm Branch 1967 United States Stan Brakhage [3]
L'Age d'Or 1930 France Luis Buñuel Albert Duverger Luis Buñuel, Georges van Parys [3]
Alice (Neco z Alenky) 1988 Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, West Germany Jan Švankmajer Svatopluk Malý [3]
Anima Mundi 1992 Italy, United States Godfrey Reggio Graham Berry Philip Glass [4]
Ashes and Snow 2005 United States Gregory Colbert Gregory Colbert [5]
Atlantis 1991 France, Italy Luc Besson Luc Besson Éric Serra [6]
Baraka 1992 United States Ron Fricke Ron Fricke Michael Stearns [7]
Bestiaire 2012 Canada, France Denis Côté Vincent Biron [8]
Blue 1993 Japan, United Kingdom Derek Jarman Simon Fisher-Turner [9]
Bodysong 2003 United Kingdom Simon Pummell Jonny Greenwood [10]
Chronos 1985 United States Ron Fricke Ron Fricke Michael Stearns [11]
The Clock 2010 United Kingdom Christian Marclay [9]
Decasia 2002 United States Bill Morrison Michael Gordon [3]
Delirium 2013 Ukraine Ihor Podolchak Mykola Yefymenko Alexander Shchetynsky [citation needed]
Diva Dolorosa 1999 Netherlands Peter Delpeut Loek Dikker [3]
Dogora: Ouvrons les yeux 2004 France Patrice Leconte Jean-Marie Dreujou Étienne Perruchon [12]
Earth from Above 2004 France Renaud Delourme Laurent Fleutot, Daniel Marchetti Armand Amar [citation needed]
Epic Java 2013 Indonesia Febian Nurrahman Saktinegara Febian Nurrahman Saktinegara Denny Novandi Ryan [citation needed]
The Falls 1980 United Kingdom Peter Greenaway Mike Coles, John Rosenberg Michael Nyman [9]
Field Niggas 2015 United States Khalik Allah Khalik Allah [13]
Film Socialisme 2010 France, Switzerland Jean-Luc Godard Fabrice Aragno, Paul Grivas [9]
Hitler: A Film from Germany
(Hitler, ein Film aus Deutschland) 		1977 France, United Kingdom, West Germany Hans-Jürgen Syberberg Dietrich Lohmann [9]
Koyaanisqatsi 1982 United States Godfrey Reggio Ron Fricke Philip Glass [14][15]
The Last of England 1987 United Kingdom, West Germany Derek Jarman Tim Burke, Richard Heslop, Christopher Hughes, Derek Jarman, Cerith Wyn Evans Simon Fisher-Turner [3]
Las Meninas 2008 Ukraine Ihor Podolchak Serhiy Mykhalchuk Alexander Shchetynsky [16]
Laya Project 2007 India Harold Monfils Yuk Hoy Cheong, Agung Dewantoro Yotam Agam, Patrick Sabag [17]
Leviathan 2012 France, United Kingdom, United States Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Véréna Paravel Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Véréna Paravel [18]
Lines 2016 Greece Vassilis Mazomenos George Papandrikopoulos Dna [19]
Man with a Movie Camera 1929 Soviet Union Dziga Vertov Mikhail Kaufman, Gleb Troyanski [20]-[21]
Microcosmos 1996 France, Italy, Switzerland Claude Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou Thierry Machado Bruno Coulais
The Mirror 1975 Soviet Union Andrei Tarkovsky Georgi Rerberg Eduard Artemyev [9]
Naqoyqatsi 2002 United States Godfrey Reggio Russell Lee Fine Philip Glass [15]
Palestrina - Prince of Music 2009 Italy Georg Brintrup Benny Hasenclever, Paolo Scarfò, Oliver Kochs Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence 2011 Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, Denmark Roy Andersson István Borbás, Gergely Pálos Stock music from various sources, The Battle Hymn of the Republic prominently featured [22][additional citation(s) needed]
Powaqqatsi 1988 United States Godfrey Reggio Graham Berry, Leonidas Zourdoumis Philip Glass [14][15]
Ruhr 2009 Germany James Benning James Benning [23]
Sacred Site 1986 United States Ron Fricke Ron Fricke [24]
Samsara 2011 United States Ron Fricke Ron Fricke Marcello de Francisci, Lisa Gerrard, Michael Stearns [25]
Silence Above the Clouds
(Ticho nad oblakmi) 		2009 Slovakia Pavol Barabáš Pavol Barabáš Maok Martin Tesak [citation needed]
Sixty Spanish Cigarettes 2015 Spain Mark John Ostrowski Mark John Ostrowski Gabriel Prada [26]
Sophie's Place 1986 United States Larry Jordan [3]
Sweetgrass 2009 France, United Kingdom, United States Lucien Castaing-Taylor Lucien Castaing-Taylor [27]
El Valley Centro 2000 United States James Benning James Benning [28]
Visitors 2013 United States Godfrey Reggio Graham Berry, Trish Govoni, Tom Lowe Philip Glass [29]
¡Vivan las Antipodas! 2011 Argentina, Chile, Germany, Netherlands Victor Kossakovsky Victor Kossakovsky Alexander Popov [30]
Walden (Diaries Notes and Sketches) 1969 United States Jonas Mekas Jonas Mekas [9]
Winged Migration 2001 France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, United States Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats Various Bruno Coulais [31]
Zorns Lemma 1970 United States Hollis Frampton [9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "13 Lakes | 2005 Tribeca Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  2. ^ Connerly, Courtney (2024-03-20). "A Novel on Documentary Film". Medium. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Atkinson, Michael. "Be Very Afraid: The Best Experimental (Non-Narrative) Features, Part I". Fandor. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  4. ^ "Anima Mundi". Spirit of Baraka.
  5. ^ ""Ashes and Snow" – Gregory Colbert | The Forest". 2014-01-28. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  6. ^ "Atlantis - Courte-Focale.fr - Grand angle sur le Cinéma ! Courte-Focale.fr – Grand angle sur le Cinéma !". Courte-Focale.fr – Grand angle sur le Cinéma ! (in French). 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  7. ^ McIntosh, Cody (February 2, 2020). "Baraka: 10 Most Visually Stunning Moments In The Film". Screen Rant. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  8. ^ "Tënk". Tënk (in French). Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Atkinson, Michael. "Be Very Afraid: The Best Experimental (Non-Narrative) Features, Part II". Fandor. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  10. ^ Castelo-Branco, Mafalda (2018-09-28). "Found Footage e a memória humana em Bodysong e Life in a Day". DOC On-line (in Portuguese) (24): 80–90. doi:10.20287/doc.d24.dt05. ISSN 1646-477X.
  11. ^ Magill, Frank Northen (1986-11-15). Magill's Cinema Annual: 1986. Cengage Gale. ISBN 978-0-89356-405-6.
  12. ^ "Dogora - Ouvrons les yeux de Patrice Leconte (2004) - Unifrance". www.unifrance.org. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  13. ^ Scherstuhl, Alan (October 13, 2015). "Lexington One Two Five: Experimental Doc 'Field Niggas' Puts You There All Night". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  14. ^ a b Fulton, Helen; Huisman, Rosemary; Murphet, Julian; Dunn, Anne (2006). Narrative and Media. Cambridge University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0521617420. Godfrey Reggio's Koyaanisqatsi (1983) and Powaqqatsi (1988) are non-narrative films, [...]
  15. ^ a b c Hexel, Vasco (2018). The Film and Media Creators' Guide to Music. Routledge. ISBN 978-1138055728. Geoffrey Reggio's groundbreaking series of non-narrative montage films Koyaanisqatsi (1982), Powaqqatsi (1988), and Naqoyqatsi (2002) is accompanied by minimalist music by composer Philip Glass.
  16. ^ "Las meninas". IFFR EN. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  17. ^ "Harvard College Calendar". Harvard College Calendar. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  18. ^ Pulver, Andrew (2013-06-28). "Edinburgh gives top award to experimental documentary Leviathan". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  19. ^ Castiel, Elie (December 31, 2017). "S.O.S. Grèce" (in French). Séquences. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  20. ^ Teare, Kendall (2019-08-12). "Yale film scholar on Dziga Vertov, the enigma with a movie camera". YaleNews. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  21. ^ PH (2015-07-23). "Man With a Movie Camera review: montage spinning out of control". Silent London. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  22. ^ Hanke, Bob (2019). "Roy Andersson's Living Trilogy and Jean-Luc Nancy's Evidence of Cinema". Film-Philosophy. 23 (1). Edinburgh University Press: 72–92. doi:10.3366/film.2019.0099.
  23. ^ Touati, Yaniv (2023), Deville, Vincent; Le Bihan, Loig (eds.), "Passage au numérique et perception du temps dans Ruhr (2009) de James Benning : un rapport paradoxal à la technique", Penser les formes filmiques contemporaines, Cinéma, émergences-résurgences (in French), Grenoble: UGA Éditions, pp. 77–92, ISBN 978-2-37747-410-3, retrieved 2024-07-04
  24. ^ ""Sacred Site", A short film in 65mm Omnimax". www.in70mm.com. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  25. ^ Keefe, Brad (March 17, 2020). "Movies to stream from home amid growing coronavirus shutdowns". Columbus Alive. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  26. ^ O'Falt, Chris (May 24, 2018). "From Lynch to Kiarostami to Ozu: See Where Your Favorite Directors Fall on Paul Schrader's Chart of Non-Narrative Cinema". IndieWire. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  27. ^ O'Hehir, Andrew (January 5, 2010). ""Sweetgrass": Spectacular elegy for a dying West". Salon. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  28. ^ "Cinema Fulgor". Cinema Fulgor. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  29. ^ Boone, Steven. "Visitors movie review & film summary (2014) | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.com/. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  30. ^ "¡Vivan las Antipodas! – Films". Visions du Réel (in French). Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  31. ^ VanDerWerff, Emily (April 19, 2015). "How March of the Penguins ruined the nature documentary". Vox. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
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