Resonant Bodies in Contemporary European Art Cinema

Resonant Bodies in Contemporary European Art Cinema explores the underexplored dimension of sound in the work of contemporary European art film directors, showing how sound, noise, and listening can rethink all aspects of the filmic experience. It considers the sonic dimensions of cinema alongside prescient current debates in European film and criticism about the body, migration, exile, anthropocentrism, and anthropocentric modes of representation.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 15 November 2023
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Resonant Bodies in Contemporary European Art Cinema

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the underexplored dimension of sound in contemporary European art cinema. This essay offers a detailed analysis of the ways in which sound is used by some of the best-known contemporary European art film directors to create unique and immersive cinematic experiences.

One of the key themes that emerges from this analysis is the way in which sound, noise, and listening can rethink all aspects of the filmic experience. By privileging the sonic dimensions of cinema, these directors challenge traditional notions of cinematic spectatorship and invite us to consider the ways in which we engage with and interpret films.

At the same time, the essay also considers the conceptualization of cinema as a resonant body. This idea suggests that cinema is not just a passive medium that we consume but rather a dynamic and active entity that interacts with our bodies and our senses. By exploring the sonic dimensions of cinema, we can begin to understand how films raise questions about the ethics and politics of listening to different bodies, as well as the ways in which sound and noise can reconfigure relations between spectators and screens, and by extension, spectators and their worlds.

To explore these themes, the essay provides a comprehensive analysis of films by Catherine Breillat, Gaspar Noé, Tony Gatlif, Arnaud des Pallières, Lars von Trier, and Peter Strickland. These post-millennial European directors have worked with sound in ways that resist the full-definition and perfect hearing offered by Dolby technology. Instead, they have privileged noise - sounds that take us to the limit of what we can hear - in a move that foregrounds the body on screen and constructs spectators as listening bodies.

Through their use of sound, these directors create films that are both visually stunning and deeply immersive. They use sound to create a sense of tension and anxiety, to evoke emotions and to create a sense of place and time. They also use sound to create a sense of ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing spectators to interpret the films in their own unique ways.

In conclusion, Resonant Bodies in Contemporary European Art Cinema offers a stimulating contribution to theories of cinematic spectatorship. By showing how sound, noise, and listening can rethink all aspects of the filmic experience, the essay provides a new way of understanding the power and potential of cinema to engage with our bodies and our senses. At the same time, the essay also considers the conceptualization of cinema as a resonant body, and the ways in which films raise questions about the ethics and politics of listening to different bodies. Through its analysis of films by a range of contemporary European directors, the essay offers a valuable insight into the ways in which sound can be used to create unique and immersive cinematic experiences.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474483469