Admittedly, there are aspects of this film that resemble art cinema. The lighting in the movie is realistic, and quite often, natural light sources are used, as is the case with many art films. This is evident in the opening scene, where Chico and a stranger are walking on the street at night, and only as they walk under street lamps can they can be seen. The scene in the cellar after Charlie kills Plyne also exhibits this technique, whereas classical films tend to use artificial sources to shed everybody in seemingly perfectly bright lighting.

Another one of the most important distinctions of art cinema, is that it has a discontinuous narrative, and by no means does Shoot the Piano Player fit this description. A discontinuous narrative, in part, means that the protagonist is not goal-oriented. However, Charlie does indeed seem to have specific goals. Charlie attempts to save his brother from Ernest and Momo, and he also tries to save Fido after he has been kidnapped. He tries to win Lena’s heart, and in the flashback scene he tries to overcome his timidity. Clearly then, in this aspect, the film is dissimilar to an art film. An art films character’s actions (unlike a classical film’s) are not supposed to be set by deadlines. However, in this film, all characters wait for the gangster’s arrival with Fido at the family farm. This deadline certainly is the cause of action, as the climax of the film comes as soon as this deadline is reached. Art films are also supposed to have less causal connections, yet this film progresses in a very causal manner, as everything that happens, happens because of a previous event. There are countless examples of this; Ernest and Momo kidnap Fido because they failed in their kidnapping of Charlie and Lena. They kidnap Charlie and Lena, because they failed to catch Chico. It is indeed obvious that this film follows the guidelines of cause and effect, and aside from a flashback sequence (which is common in both classical and art films), occurs in a chronological and causal manner. Clearly then, Shoot the Piano Player is far removed from art films in terms of narrative continuity.

Some topics in this essay:
Piano Player, Ernest Momo, Curtiz Casablanca, Charlie Lena’s, Wave French, Charlie Lena, Consequently Charlie’s, , art cinema, art film, Shoot Piano, shoot piano player, piano player, shoot piano, art films, ernest momo, jump cut, classical cinema, Francois Truffaut’s, film art, charlie’s character, supposed jump cuts, hollywood classical cinema, discontinuous narrative means, appears jump cut,