Brutal Intimacy: Analyzing Contemporary French Cinema (Wesleyan Film) - Hardcover

Palmer, Tim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0819568260 ISBN 13: 9780819568267

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press, 2011

Synopsis

Brutal Intimacy is the first book to explore the fascinating films of contemporary France, ranging from mainstream genre spectaculars to arthouse experiments, and from wildly popular hits to films that deliberately alienate the viewer. Twenty-first-century France is a major source of international cinema--diverse and dynamic, embattled yet prosperous--a national cinema offering something for everyone. Tim Palmer investigates France's growing population of women filmmakers, its buoyant vanguard of first-time filmmakers, the rise of the controversial cinema du corps, and France's cinema icons: auteurs like Olivier Assayas, Claire Denis, Bruno Dumont, Gaspar Noe, and stars such as Vincent Cassel and Jean Dujardin. Analyzing dozens of breakthrough films, Brutal Intimacy situates infamous titles alongside many yet to be studied in the English language. Drawing on interviews and the testimony of leading film artists, Brutal Intimacy promises to be an influential treatment of French cinema today, its evolving rivalry with Hollywood, and its ambitious pursuits of audiences in Europe, North America, and around the world.

About this title

About the Author:

TIM PALMER is an associate professor of film studies at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. His articles have appeared in journals such as Cinema Journal, Journal of Film and Video, Studies in French Cinema and the French Review. He is cofounder and co-editor-in-chief of the journal Film Matters.

Review:

"An invigorating and enjoyable account of French cinema which is inspiring in its passion and enthusiasm for its subject." - Fiona Handyside, Modern and Contemporary France

"Brutal Intimacy represents a unique introduction to recent French cinematic trends and styles... Cinephile readers, fans or not of the films Palmer analyzes, will nonetheless greatly appreciate having an amplified view into what is, indeed, the diversity of contemporary French cinema." - Joan M. West, The French Review

"Through its breadth, depth and the many films referenced, this book is a celebration of French cinema... [T]hose cinema lovers who wish to understand all aspects of contemporary French cinema will be surprised at how in Brutal Intimacy Palmer makes the complex understandable." - Caroline Walters, Film-Philosophy

"Highly recommended (for) lower-division undergraduates through faculty." --RP Kinsman, Choice

"A stunningly novel account of a decade of production in French cinema...[P]erhaps Palmer's defence of the young and the new is precisely what French film studies needs at this present moment."--Emma Wilson, French Studies

"Ultimately, Brutal Intimacy will prove to be a useful guide for students (undergraduate and postgraduate), teachers and lovers of contemporary French cinema..."--Andrew Asibong, H-France Review

"Brutal Intimacy is essential for anyone with an interest in studying French cinema" -- Leo Collis, Film International

About this edition

• Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0819568260
• ISBN 13: 9780819568267
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304