"Art-house" as a cultural phenomenon of the twentieth century

The article looks into art-house cinema as a phenomenon of the 20th century film, as a phenomenon of different national schools, as poetic unengaged film and philosophy, its peculiarities; the role of the film director in film creation, language of the art-house cinema, art-house cinema as a way of expressing author’s position as contrary to the passion of masses; art-house cinema mirroring epoch crisis of the XX century that mankind walked and a mirror of contemporary state of the world; appearance of the art-house cinema in Europe, its connection to the “new wave” with its new creative method; presence of allegoric form, parable mentality to note in the 60s-80s; art-house cinema as a stimulant of world cinema; as a powerful criterion of cognition.