Unspoken Cinema

When I initiated this blog in 2006, I always meant it to be a collaborative project , it was a sort of transition from the assignment-happenings offered by the " blogathons " (that were popular back then) to a more formal collective workshop to foster a group of like-minded people around a common interest (i.e. Contemplative Cinema , or "boring art films" at the time). Well, the age of communities has faded out pretty fast, and the annual meeting to produce content was too much work for many. All the original members had administrator rights to edit and manage the team blog, but sharing responsibilities didn't enthuse some to co-pilot with me. I can't force anyone to feel passionately commited. I tried to compile useful resource on this blog in the hope to raise awareness, and entice the production of more serious critical material on this trend that needed to be defined, on the published articles out there that needed to be cross-examined, on the new films ...

Review of : The " Aesthetic of Slow " By Matthew Flanagan ( 16:9 , Nov 2008) This article published over a year ago, explores a certain formal trend in contemporary cinema that seems to converge with the many themes developped here at Unspoken Cinema . Matthew Flanagan names it an " Aesthetics of Slow "; perhaps the distinct appelation explains why his researches never met " Contemplative Cinema ". I'll point out what they have in common and where they are distinguishable. Unspoken Cinema is focused on one particular definition, characterised by the "contemplative" aspect, one of many faces of this trend. I would like to see more of these alternate studies investigated and furthered deeper, either here or elsewhere. Unfortunately few critics are curious enough about this area of cinema to write more about it and generate a plural discourse around the various possible approaches to this new trend... The first thing I notice, is the familia...

Split screen comparison of the opening sequence of both Satantango (1994/Tarr/Hungary) and La león (2007/Otheguy/Argentina) by Michel Reilhac ( Arte, France ) 16 Mar 2010 [FRENCH]

Présentation de Spiral Jetty et casting a glance au Jeu de Paume from Independencia on Vimeo . 21' [FRENCH/ENGLISH] Jeu de Paume, Paris. 24 Oct 2009. James Benning, Raymond Bellour, Cyril Neyrat, Antoine Thirion. Table ronde James Benning au Jeu de Paume from Independencia on Vimeo . 1h47' [FRENCH/ENGLISH]. Jeu de Paume, Paris. 24 Oct 2009. James Benning, Raymond Bellour, Cyril Neyrat, Antoine Thirion. Passif ou pensif Il en résulte un cinéma exigeant, nécessitant une attention soutenue. Les plans sont longs, fixes et peu nombreux, de plus en plus sans paroles, animés de mouvements minimaux, et généralement fondés sur la mise en valeur des processus de répétition ou de variation naturelles, climatiques, industrielles, politiques, historiques, etc. Une partie de la difficulté vient de ce que tout est posé sans précaution. Infliger cette autre temporalité pourra être perçu comme une posture violente. Tout du moins exaspérante au premier abord. Puis, comme un geste comique et...

La Master class de Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne ( forumdesimages ) FRENCH 1h40'

Tatarak * A free-film-verse by Andzrej Wajda Does the genre exist at all? Can we imagine a deliberately freely composed film-poem in which the required formal rules of poetic speech can’t be easily found? Where rhymes and cadences do have their unique rhythm, consonances and dissonances and the loosely interwoven elements create their own tone and lyrical ambiance, - although never in the regular way. Wajda’s Tatarak seems to realize this unusual enterprise and regardless of its surprising fragmentation or decisive combination of unrelated “story-parts”, we are touched by this music and are open to feel the profound emotional authenticity of the work. Tatarak is built up from three or maybe four components in order to bring about a captivating whole. Not an easy venture! The departure point, according to the director, was a short story rooted in the past, written by his favorite writer, Iwaszkiewicz, dealing with the memories of a woman who has lost her two sons in the ...