Experimental films are different from mainstream films, in the way that they are designed to challenge mainstream cinema. They do not have a plot or characters are characterised by being a mix of different images and sounds that don't really fit together or make sense to form a cohesive story. This requires spectators to change their conventional cinema expectations in order to watch an experimental film, as you need to look deeper into the film to understand what it is trying to convey. Experimental films are not films that you can watch passively and enjoy a narrative as they require constant analysis on the audiences.
Luis Bunuels "Un Chien Andalou" is a famous experimental film from the 1920's, the film has an avant garde theme which requires the audience to look at the film in a different way that they would with mainstream cinema. This can be seen in the opening scene where we see the director, Luis, sharpening a razor. We then see the a cloud in the sky cutting across the moon. This symbolises when the woman gets her eye cut by the razor in the next cut. This does not represent anything and holds no meaning with reinforces the theme of challenging mainstream cinema. The purpose of this scene was to provoke a response in the audience, as in the 1920s this kind of scene was very violent and was not usually seen. "Un Chien Andalou" relies on the audience response to create a desired response, without their response the film has no purpose showing that
