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Ballet Mechanique is an experimental film that was produced in France in the early 1920s. The film is best known for its association with the Dadaist and Surrealist art movements, both of which were emerging at that time. The director, Fernand Léger, was a well-known painter and filmmaker who sought to challenge traditional notions of cinematic storytelling with his work.

The film is a non-narrative exploration of movement and sound, and it features a series of abstract images that are accompanied by an experimental score composed by George Antheil. The score is created entirely with mechanical instruments, making it one of the earliest examples of electronic music in cinema.

The film is divided into several sections, and each section explores a different set of images and sounds. The opening section features images of urban life, with footage of factories, trains, and skyscrapers. The images are fragmented and disjointed, and they are accompanied by the industrial sounds of machines and motors.

As the film progresses, it becomes increasingly experimental and surreal. The middle section of the film features images of masks and faces, many of which are distorted or grotesque. The images are set to a mechanical score that includes instruments like airplane propellers and car horns.

The final section of the film features a series of abstract shapes and patterns, accompanied by a frenzied score that incorporates dozens of instruments played simultaneously. The images and sounds become increasingly chaotic, building to a climax that is both exhilarating and disorienting.

Overall, Ballet Mechanique is a groundbreaking work of art that challenged traditional notions of filmmaking and music. The film's use of abstract imagery and experimental sound paved the way for later avant-garde filmmakers and musicians, and it remains a landmark of early 20th-century art.

Ballet Mechanique is a 1924 short with a runtime of 13 minutes.