International Cinema: Art of Ellipsis

In 1936, film critic Roger Leenhardt declared, “cinema is the art of ellipsis.” But this claim seems to contradict our most basic understanding of film. After all, movies are about what we see, not about what we don’t. Or are they? In fact, Leenhardt was suggesting that the richest tradition in cinema explores the dynamic between the seen and the unseen, the shown and the unshown. In this course we will carefully study international films that effectively work this dynamic in terms of narrative, character, and most importantly, cinematic style. Films studied will include: Jean Renoir’s Rules of the Game (France, 1939); Christian Petzold’s Barbara (Germany, 2012). Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone in Love (France/Iran/Japan, 2012); Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder (US, 1959). 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen