trans.

l\letz, C 1974, "The modern cinema and narratlvity",

Language:
1\1 Taylor, Oxford Uniyersity Press, New York.
8 The Modern Cinema
and Narrativity
I
A deep, pennancnt ambiguity the definition of the "mod
ern" cinema. Jt is often suggested, and son]{:tillles even aJJinmxL that
tIle "young cinema," or the "new cinema," h:1S
that dll' modern film is <1n absolute ObJect, a
lws
work (0 be read in any direction, allll that it has thrown off n:lrra
the earmark of the classical fllm. This is the preat :n-pUlllent or
the "breakdowll of
nnf_""lEn\{i under a
frolll a deb:lte
For Ren6
which dclilled
JVlar
ill turn, associated with
Pierre Billard, it was the idea of a more direct approach to realitv, a
certain type of fUl1danlCl1tal realism which would morc or less Jis
place the old narrative hahits,4 For
ema or
was a "111m-maKer Sc111(,111a," which has takcn the place of thc
writer's cincma."6 Or it ,,,,as a cincllla of the "shot," rCDlacin[1 the
18
5
186 THE "1\IODERN" CINEMA' SOME TllEORET1CAL PHOBU2l\lS
directly narrative cinema, where Olle galloped from shot to shot
ehe! j\llardore).7 Or, finally, it was a CillellJ<l of Freedom, open to Illul
a ('inem:] or "contempJatiull" and "ohjcctivity," which
authoritarian concatenatiolls of the classical film,
the theater, substituting "wise ell presellce" for "mise ell
who has rclleeted with
greal IHCClSIUIl Oil
"cinem,1 of pl)etrv" silllulia
l1'luativc.
Finally, for ,ill or critics, tbe recent pcriod has witnessed the
of a free einclll,l, <l cincm,l perlllancntly 1ibcf<\tl'([ fmlll the Sllp'
rilles 0('
clCCOU III 0['
()r the movie spectacle in fm'oJ'
'('rLlffaut), rejection of the too illlpcccahlc
,'/'ruILILlt ag,lill), rejection (IF the to() evident "sign<' that do violence
tu the allllligllity of fc,llity CBa/,i rejcctioil ()f the pseu(]oWlltactic
arsen,d dl',n t() the old theorctici,111 S (Leell 1wnIt), rejecti()1l of d IC
,1S well as I he lIIuvic spect'ltk. ill favur of a cin
d'(:crilllfC'l. a docile ,mel Hcxihle llle,ll1S of
J\/Iv purpose ill tllis text is not III take up arllls ,my Olle 01'
the,( since cadI one of thclIl contains, to my
IlIlnd, ,I grc:ll deal of rather to confronl, by Illl',m, of a
sliccessive (and never total) questioning of these different
a great libcrt(friall lIIyth, which is nul fully cxpressed ill ,my olle of
the analvses. bUl which underlies diem all ,mel aclt],lles them all (ex
theatrical, and hv extension, fdmic term for the
the crealio;1 "f ,lOts, and til(: ,,1' a
n more direct
THE MODEBN CINEMA AND NATIRATIVITY
cepl for the ideas of Pier Paolo
raise dif
fcren t though lela ted I)roblcms, will
Let 1I1e be clear: '1'lH'se analyses I am about to (lllcstiull have the
go,!l ,mel the effect of supporting lilms that J like, films that I still
view withollt boredom, They art' decply linked to the gr,ldll,ll risc
and cventual t1'iU11]])11-at least fur largc of the cultivated
cinema that is alil"c toLla\" - Tu ignore Je<ln
10 excludc oJ]cself
able [0 aceOllllt fur
'tructurally----that, in every period ,Jill] for every art, the
lI'ord, ,IS diversified as it may be is n('vcrtheless to he rOLlnd ill ,1 sill
gle locus, And. even j I' th is loclls GIl1 ,ll first he ]ec()gni7t'lJ only hy t b(,
it thM hcc()Jl1t' larger ,llllj l110re
intense ,IS we ;lppn ,aell thei r SOil it is dOll htles:.. {his pri Illl' ('vi
Ii [sl ('xDcliencvli in I he ('JlIotiulwl
our rellcctJoll, :..incc
of this rdlcdioJ1 is to reduce the distall('(" inili;11 ellorlllOUS,
COll1l1Wllphlcc, ;Illd L!istressl'
I he emol iun or the CI
viction hom its clarilicatioJ1, the or 1i lin from its 1]]eta ];111
gU'lge. l\IorcOH'I', one IIlLlst1]nt forget t1wt a critic is llCITr altogl'lhel
a theoretician, but that he is ,dways something (II' ,I miliulJl! ,111(.1 tlmt
two cinen"ls left that call iutcrcsl liS:
cillClIla to which article devoted. lhe
American
uninlcllcctual
it lingers on
"ftell in the form or
the vanl!s1er [ihn
t') <.)
a great cinema, a cinema without problems, where onc was ncver bored. The
the extent that it is llo1 taken tip by the living cinema will, one
fean" be assumed by a cinema burdened with ideologics anti dubiolls gOl)(1 will
Potato T1ro 1'0/<1/0, Dapid allll Lisa, : intellectual fIlms, replete- with
intentiolls, based Oil the ielea that art cnl1 reach the "human" by eli
wlwreas it can unly attnin it after a speCific any rate in
like our own.
188 THE "MODEHN" CINEMA: SO;\IF. TllEOnETICAL PROBLEMS
purpose is not to fi Il11s. but also to
he to this extent one eaJl say that cin
ema is
Nevertheless one will indeed one lm\'c to unuert,l ke the theo
rctical it is on th<1t level
if not ,1]) the
at least 10 tlla!
which too oFten lInderlies thelll.
II
First remark: agrees ill the new cinCIll,l no-; dc
lined bv the hlct tlla t it has beyond" or "rejecteu" or "hrukcll
hut the of thM slllllclhing---whcthcr spcc
" inflexihle significatioll, "devices" of
the script writer, etc, --varies considerahly frOill critic tt) critic, as I
Iried to :-ohmv in tbe hrieF summary or their ideas ,It dl(' heginning or
tllis text.
VEATII of '1'111', "SP!:'CTACU:,""2 The c()ncept of the Slx'cl;lcle has a
certain 'Ippcal) hut it is not tbe expression or ;In\, rigoruus though!.
Olle l11a\' tah' il in its sociological scnse: "spectacle" clJll<lls sociul
rill' cllllsisling ill ~ I Inllnan gathcring olielll('d tow:nd a predominantly
vislI:d evellt. In this (,:lSt', 1 do not sec huw thc mudern 111m is ill any
way less of a specl<\eic than the tmtiitioll,d lilm, unci so the implied
rl'vulutioll remains confined to the V()Cnblllan of the criliealmetahm
guagc ,1m] doc, 1101 affect the film ohjects for which it is supposeci to
aC('(JUllt. Did not the mrc as they were, who were ,1hlc to
sec !-loris I/OUS rtPlmflic1li, at ,m ;lppnintcd hour ,It an insti
tutional place: did they not pay for their scats :J1ll1 tip the ushcr? In
these !crms, ill tIuth, it is not very dillicult to rCLnind the reader.
the face of variolls cnthllsiaslic excesscs, that the cinema will remain
a spectacle until olle forms of 111m distribution, commer
cialization. and viewing that arc so ullusual that the method of "im
leaps" too as invoked
THn ':\IOIlEnN CINEM./\ AND NAlmATIVITY
d Ihe variutioJ1S of the hearl) reminds us' will
lip a valid llotion of them from what we IJrt's
To Sd\' that the modern CillCllW is I1U longeI a specLwk
in the luxury uf d ch<ll1ge that is in hct not a ckll1;Y,c.
One may also take the conC('pl or "spcc[;lClc" in a mUll' pSl'chologiC:11
: ,\ spectack is ,111\ essentinll" vislI:d C\Tllt that Pil'Sl'llts
ilself to us .in lllode (,l' ex!cflwlity :lntl In' which \VC :IIT c"llsli
tilted \\'itn('ss(',. nut il' tllis is so) wlwl pml'r spcl'l,ll'lc is thnc than i\
IFolIl({1I is 17 H
7
oIl1l 11l'-";1 III LIS iCClI (Ullll'ck Silllltit;lJlCOllSJy undermincd
~ I J l d nourished b\ Ihe inlinilciv v:lricd clrcets of sCIl'-l'.lrodv, ami sl
.1 IlIIlSic;d cOllll'dy?
Th('l'l' is 11" dllllhl 111:11 nOlwislial (ami vcrhal-, 1
liers ;He 111U1'l' imp(lrtanl than cn'!' ill the lllodern CilH'lll:l, that- -ahov('
;lllthev 11:]\,c ceased to he :Ishalllcd or tiH'Jllscln's (;le; ill the
wllell ,;iJl'llt 1Ililvil's were
10 all (,lld: neilL' Clair's SUII'
luils .Ie
in's !Horlcrn Tilllc,'L or, on
111
tnll; hetter th:m
{he COIlCl'pt or
c< Illlrihut i"l I
he {In spcc1:l-
1'llfC spcdClcll's.
to deflnc Wh;lt the\
nature: thcrc['orl' the CIlllccpl
ill the (IUl'stion thaI
COnCe111S us.
DEATH 01' TlIl' "TlJEATEll?" Is it therefore the tllGllf er from which
the young cinema has heen FrectI? That iSll't the case eirher.Fof, be
fore c.mtinuillg, olle would to llsk: \Vhilt theater, :Jnd what cin
ema? There hilS always been rI b8c1 cinema copied Fwm a had the,lter:
It alrerldy existed i 11 dlC age of the silent films ,mel despite I he silence
T
I
190 THE "1\10DEl'.N" CINEl\lA: SOME TllEOHETICAL rTIOBLEMS
since the advent or thc talking fillll, we have bad
the "psychological comcdy" and the "dralllatic l'(ll1lcdy"--not tu be
confused with the /\nll'rican comedy-and they me still with llS. To
mention unly the r;rench cinema-which is, admittedly, particularly
favored ill r('sneet many hundreds of {] Illls have we not
to the genre's rcci pe, thc cake mix
or entertainmentl 'I
II thc llludem cinema has tu a exten t freed itseH
from ;111 while doing so avoid IJolllcl'anl'" 'I- ('11
rather than tbe theatef, and the grclt Ii Ims of the past
were ahle t() avuid it just as well: atiel Flaherty tl
be sure; bUI also, in a H'fy difrerent wav, Eisenstein.
t, on the cOJllrary, the good thcatcr and the IS
IlI111hing of'? nut, how C;J11 one forget thal
) ;lJ1d
man, VI$COJIll) ,vne mell til the theater, in the full of the terlJJ?
How can one forget all t1ut ;1I! ;\iaill Hcsnais or <Ill
(0 the so called dWaler of distallce (thec/ire de la Ii/S/((}ICUltlOl'!), as
-'em Carta has 511 revealed?'O Hovv can onc that evcry
of illlportance ill the thcater of is as far rClIJO\cd froll1 the
or "clabow!c intriglle" as arc the film;, of :Milos hlflllan,
Bozier, or Jcall Bouch? And, iF olle loob at the
Here j, the fur the "psychological (ur "dWJIlalie
d ,{)ciell')'
etc
2, Olle P,Ir,t
invents .
hut !lim out to han;
3. A dash or l,rilliant
4. A few m'mbers:
presence of
Mrs. E. F. dnd Mr. 1:.").
5. A touch of the nude: vulgarity.
melodrama and
marital)
THE ,\]()DEI1N CINEMA ,INU NAHIIATIVITY 19 1
from a wider perspective, if, following the of certaill theoreti
dans of tile cinema 11 or of the theater ,:- one
takes the position that the theater is oPI)osed to the epic to the
nove], tlHlt scculiir epic) a Ilction caught in and in its cir
cllmstantial thrust is in contrast to that same fiction rel,Hed in words
are not those of the proLIgonists, one \vill indeed have to con
clude that the CillCllW, altllOugh an art very difFercllt From the thea
ter, is nevertheless not on the its n;lture changes radi
brcahng till' very ami basic hond that links it to
theater. '" '" No lIlore than tile distinction between the "spectacle"
alld the "nonspce[,lcle," willthc distinctioll hetween the "thC:lll']," and
the "llolltlteater" allow us to establish uur preferellces ill theon', so
that we can unc!erstallll Illore deadv whv we like what we like, or
wlwt is new about the Ilew ('il1el11a.
THE CINEMA OF IMPTIOVlSATION? Is the answCJ', I that the
new cinema is a cinc.ma of improvisation? BUI there arc n Lll11efOllS
modern films that fall outside of this definitioll, from Knife in 1111;
lVa/er to JlIles ll1ul Jilll, passing through the works of Orson
Dcwy. l\lain Resl1ais, etc. It is true that, whell he proposed
i\1iehd Mardorc was cnrcful to ;1]1ply it ollly to one
of the modem cinema. hilt the idea is Cllue.l1l' <lnd one often
hears it expressed ;1 IIllich more vanue and uCllcral way. it
b b
devote<l to
,\escribc,
life under
OIle
cannot agree wil h twu
forms, among other \.1:dlnUI1S de
Provence, [(jG6, a book cler the title
"Cincmuturgic de Paris" in
19('5
issue 011 Pmmol and Sacha
to: PI"
'P, '111 "J\[Ol1En", C1NBMA: SOj\lE THEOHET1CJ\L l'nODLE\IS
only-alld cyell t11ell with some reservations-on the 01lC
Iwud til Jean-tnc Cudmd (bUl the man, we know, has a touch of
,'enius, :mel <'cniLls is 1110rCU\"er, it
illljJl'<Jvi'l'S \I"iib gredl
,""'\ ;-'1
CillClll:1"-"ci 11(; ui, 711"
is ;1 1:15k 11l:IS[Cr), ,1lld (Ill the uther h;lIld II) a 11ltll1lwr ()I'
tCIlc/cIll"ics rchled to the dllellill direct its hro:ldest scnse, '? tend-
C]1l']('" for a
st:lges oj' ;1
Claude Li'vi-Straus, (lllt t' rt'lll:lrh:dY' The ill
cinell/o ilired i, too often the by-procilil'! or lazi"
Ilotes,' lUI) oFtell it 1'C11UUllCC'S
(IF Ilw linishcd work witi1mlt
(:11 Ill'sl': ;IIlV 11101(' t [lith [h:lll ;1 g\J()d d()CllIlll'llLlf\ P')S
Sl'SSl'S, II is /1,,1 ellough 101 ,;IV Ih:11 Illc orciill<lrv dir<Tl fillll is 11111 pcr
fect, ],"1' il h:1:, ,-cal ii, 11t'1 evell ht'cil linislll'd" J\IH] il is ll()1 jU,l the
histot) "I' 11](' l'illl'lll:l, hUI till' 11Iu,t Il:ltur,' (II' till' aesthelic "h
jccL ihl'lr, lh:lt will h:1VL: 10 Ch:lllgl' 1)J()j'flulldk hdulc :l vvorl;: or afl is
ahll' to ahsorb I:ngc s('<'liolls oj: Illtll:ll1S[orllll'tl rcalilyilll() its own pur
IlI)S<:, :\l1d hci'"rc il (',\11 Iruths "Iiln thall [he'
()Ilt', lr,lIlspI,,-,'d ,1lId rl'rUrJllll lhM its illil PI'! l(cd\lrcs h:ll"c Jlut
"lIl (II' rl:'Wh. "I 'he go!)d
hll',
ill pillt :it lc;t;,t. i'lqlJ'UyjsCl's, H,
is thl' I()('w, wher" laziness :ll1d till' de
0', ('iI/eli!!!. direct itscll' Cltus!,,,I;), m,,1 1'11/(:111<1 t'CI'ile (C/II'{Jlli'1111' ,"1111 (;k, 1,y
lean lil!lIcl,'), hut <Ih" the "camlie[ I"ll1H,,"l" EIlII; the N:lli,)]):)I ['jIm ll",lrtl <,j'
C:alllllh It'lldcflCY; ,\speets ,,1' the su'cliled f\!('\\' Yor]; ,,d,,,,,], or or Ih" Iirili,iJ
"free CillCllIil": the l\mcricCin i'c::ltlll'l'clucuJI1Cllt,nies (LC:leo,C'\;, ill<' J\JilYslcs
br"thl'rs '; tcmknLlcs u[ the televisiun (klein
All hvugll be spoke uf a L'll1Cll1(l ur Jjlllnl'fl\(i ... :)t inn
lif,t in rull agreeIllent with the eil/elf/II direct;
much liLc OWll, But it is tbe COlll'cpt \1[' thl:' cinema
that seelllS ullclear to me,
THE l\IUnEHN CINEl\IA AND NilnnATlY1TY
93
each other,
the
cil1('lI1a,
TilE CINEi\lA 011
Is
lhe
allswer
Bllt tllCTl' arc no I('al dC:ld
a lilm is ;! on]v ill ]ik :IIT
spaces," ;\ 1l1011ICnl (';Ill be dllll, "(ll'<ld," only ill J'CLllioll
to :Ill The lifteell"minute IvaiL hdnrc :1 decisive j IllCII'il'lV,
hCC;IUSI' the pcrsoll J alll 10 s(,c is I:ll(', is indccd a tind of "dcad
Sp:lCl"" sincc it is 1](01. whetl I am :ltlClltlill,c; III at the time, But such
moments m'isc on]v hl'C<1l1Sl> the Ol'l'UlTClllTS of life an. nol
()llC\ ()I\'11 wi 11: tliey do nut ubey I he urge l() till' a/kel i vc ,lra
J)('s'I
lIl
which cOllsidercd most J'ullillilw ( to fl'j)(:at olle oi f,riclIlH' >,
SOl! ria lI'S
by an
as "dead
of the iell al
W;l \ S constructcd
JIIinutes, Ihe whole liFe ur
till' lilm \\'Oldd he clJlltaincd ill
"dead spacc." Th(' (lilly Ical dC:ld
spaces ill the cinclIl:I arc the III
dull 11111
whilc e'xlemal]v
vicwer', attcntioll,
whieh bccolllcs don H:mt, it
inllTll<'dh the ;'I'l'V condiliolls
fIJI' Ill<' ''tlcnd
in life, It is 011 the 1(,l'd oj culti)]"
;11lt!
"
is, before the
lilm l'xishthal tile lkstill\' or till'
"dcad is dCtL'rlllilll'll: Those Ihe lillll-lllakl'l' l'xpl'I'icllCCS as
SIlCI! arc hallislll'd frolll the lilll1., and Ill' willllc\ cr sec thcm-l'or, till
likclil'l' ill tbis respccl, lilll! IllI':'>1 makc its choices or C(';)SC to cxist al
all. Thw" :dl the "lllonlellls" th:11 the Jilm-lllakcr has included in
I; 1m wcre alivc
cinema is
a nCIV-and a
prnfullllllll'
is lS !lot what or a
mcnt" ill
and it is !J()t hased 011
"dead," innovation is :1l1
matter, and Antonion] is
far more
194 THE
i{
MODUHN
H
CINE]\IA. ~ O M E TlIEOHETICAL PROBLEMS
hmmm substance of his films than became
excels in showing us the diffuse
I ife that ,Ire considered
most IlnpOrl<lllt U1mg about
the Cinel1111 (Nrect-is [h,lt he was
skein of <l mOle subtle
Evell llIure:
diem fro III
that
S](ln
form of
fmc IlO Ijlll1. Or
very
llu\\,cve r,
iricalcs of that shimlllering
he lost
" He
ur
I iema I
itself: 11 ('\\'srecls. prulllo
in the
widest scnse.
cIlls 11 J('1Il Y'
of the alTragc
dCCCll t dOl'lllllen taries,
A FIlNDA!\IENTAL
TIlE ]\IODERN CINEMA AND NARRATIVITY '95
contained a to
revert to a mythology that Jean NIitry hm; rightly crHlClZCtl,'" a my
that conceals hehilld phenoIllenologica I
tial reidislll whose consequellce is the revival, OJ] the level of the
of tl1il195." of the terroristic
no
e>
in the name of am-
aspects or ;\Ildrc Bazin's alld
Munier's theories, It shuuld be noted illcidentally dwt i\lichcl
1\1<1rdorc ;Illd Pierre Bilhrd do llut conceive of ,he notion or "realism"
in tlltH SCJlS('; nor docs Mmccl some of It is ('spres
slOns
that ;1 rc aJld tilL' person
lor whUlll tlley me, ill thl' inelllctable "adverse
"I hell' is"
l'cHlng cinema as ;1 whole, but rathcr ;1 ('erwin crazv
has sprung lip around the cil/cllla verite: the belief
(cnce or the i!ll;lge, which is SOIl1e1lOw
as wclJ as-eVCIl as it lends
terns that the slightest dislocation
and
,lei llalizcs
nol the
tll;1t
Lind of in110
exempt from
discursive
introduces-
* ('oilled word derived from the Greek
/(0"1-<0' Ccosmos) Hll<] ,/,all'ELl' ( to Thus, it indicates the faculty to pre
sent the world in its entirety, to show "--TnANsLATOll,
THE "MODEHN" SO:\IE TllliORETlCAL PHOIlLEl\lS
from tbe enormous
of some
thcsinn terms, 111 tile
the few hcautiful alld the lllany botched works of the Cilll?IlW v()rile,
one might recugnize ,I wayward, s,lll, and obstinale sister of the sel1lio
logicid appnKlch-at Icast iF the hitter is cOl1sidered in ils k'ilSl teclllli
cal aspccls. and in its deepest ,]tfecl in: fOUlIlhlioll. The
is (me of distrust for bnglwge, anJ \Yunls i]J'eileillg C[llCS
Crcltcri in order t(J question the world, spel,e11 it
[he ubicct ()l' (jLlCSliolh: fashiolled ,IS a lonl I'm
it is heing asked 1l0VV to aCColillt for
of slispicioll ,mel l10hlc neurosis. the
Incx
tnll' discollrse is onh' ,I true disc(lllI'SC; the word COl1l<1iIlS I
than that which is conLlillcd ill ils cmJ'cc( ic usage
The cincllw 1'eril(;, Ull the ,lltcllll'ts (0 ,\I'oid (ilco,c diflicu
(ies hy supp()sedly rejecting coherent ,mel the lise of iconic
atll's(ation; ('VCIl the spccch of the (flllll) llCHlCS is slljlPllSl'lIIU he 1I1l
Il<lSCCTlt--il is pint or the illl,lgc, as iF it Wl'J'l' l)cing swept
v;lsl circuit of vi::;lldl Uhc prolifcra(i')ll 01 III
tcrvicws in tile cinclJliI-rcri{(' lillllS he1s no othcl' SUllfcC It is a P']
thetic
InCOllllll!:-. de Iii I!rre,
th:11 hav<' hel'!) "0111

whu lws "problellls."
Iwo Iypes of ie1coiogy: that of im:1ge
and wbich is a sort of curious behaviorism;
THE j\lODEllN C1NEi\lA AND NAnnATlV1TY H);
Jlc\'crthekss-ilild IS a1'1';11 ell t at
the best works of Ibe llew cincllu.
viewer;.. with
in the
trcmciv dillicilit to ddinc
1tis the l'XDctncss of an
llslinc
vOice.
oj' ,I gestnre. of ,I lulle'. Jt for example, till' marvel,llls, <Ibn!)st
dal1ced scellt' ill Pierrul Ie fult ,lIlll,Illg the
C'lI/I./ Iif!, II I' {Ie c!1iIJ1CC , . I'a li.f.i,lIc de IlilI/e/les , .." "IVfy life line
, , . 'Your llip Jint' , : :1 highlv ,(Till' Ile'vcrtheicss.
since it is ,I piece uf ch()n'ogcqlliy, :1 rclcrcl1cc to ;\lllcri(JIl Illllsical
-we :II'C :1 \\':1)' F!'(JllI lhl' simple-minded ollhc
phil' "cuIlLlrist" traditioll, "realism" for libl socil'lics, No
other film P:ISS,lgC, JHlweY(.'r--lll1icss (O:I ,,"sset' (',{el1t, the si
lcn( SCdUcli()1l ,ccm' durin!.' the pamc\c Struilcim\ P/cddill,f!,
crl'ti<>ll IlJ:IL i, all t]wt ,em,lin, "I' tJ.,L"'l' llIClh"d, ,,'hC'1l tl,,\, '"
the hands "I' the 'l'(:lialisl" :mel "nc tLl'll witlll'''t'S. "pi ti",
icJlenl (,(,"t(,llt, hUI '1 of "g,,[;Iled, )ll(Hlcllcd
jng al ur <It l'tlch ll1ller. cr}'jng, ch'lttcring, etc.
nIll' Jl():;talgi\,' for the olLll!ll'tJl()l1'1 Id: ('c111catl(lll h:l:"l'd Oil HlnallIH'l..:::J It 1'"
,JeHU,]])' sigllilic"lIt that, ,d,' all thl' Ill",krn lllethod" the "Illy !)'lI: Ihilt is reL,
tively ,)(:glcctcd hy the ciJl,.'JJI(( ['cri/e i" prccisdy the "Ill' that i, lll,"! like :t
II ill: ill which Ihe sl'cci:ilist\ ],C)'rtllllllllll'C "be)" lHcc'isc "pc)'al",\
dut's not ::jjlH tu cxprc.':-. ..... :-;ulnc truth (Jr IliUcll <I", 1(
amI (llllrc,Hed rcsllit: aCllwll',yc]'"allaiysi'; Cl add II('/'llfl
con1 that (lP(,I,lle
"I' an urekrh- p,o'-'CrlUI
the
198 THE "l\10DERN" CTNEl\'IA: SOME THEOl1ETlCAL PHOBLEl\IS
TIlE MOD.EHN CINEMA AND NAHHATlVITY 199
Morcf<L-had portrayed with an acclll'acy 8S fundamentally direct,
as superbly careless of the external probabilitics of timc amI place, the
lllute corporeal agrecments that love produces and by which it is pro
duced, the ambiencc of gcstures and tbe thousand minor ae
cepl<H1ccs of a docile receptiveness that is no mere obcclic'nce and that
mold the vvoman's sunlly face in the directions her lover's
hallct of active, amused, and tendcrtlcss
I
somc or the /\n
tonioni
variolls films hy
cvcn say that
rl'lllains to he dcfinedli'---arc, for all their
till' most precious comFlcsts or the CiJlClll,l tll,lt, since 1966,
we h,lVC (',I\lcd "lllodern." Jt is sllrch' not SOllle principle of ohjecliv,
ity, SOlllC faultless IGllislll, that call dcJJ]le tbis modern cinellEI, but
rather the liability to certain truths, or to certain {1cclifacics, that
make the yuung cincm[1 more ,Hlult and the tradition,ll cinema oc
cCisioll,Jlly vcry youthFul. Tile fll1l1s of the past, evcn the Jllost heau
JI' [ne f'cncr,llh a lillIe '\!lJOvc themselves." like t1lOSC
adolesccnts
THE OHDEflED CINEMA, To thaI sHeb accuracies havc be,
the or the were
or sensitive dl[lIl those of locby;
but that exph1l1[ltion is ill,1(!cllw1tc-is to re
examil1c that ncw and subtler dramaturgy lhat ,ldmits Ilion' ohjectivc
details, details of the kind tb;lt the Iraditional plot film or
ovcrwhelmed, Exactness of tunc ,I priccless COlHjUcst that renders a
whole arC,l of the cinCllla obsolctemight well be, in turn, only a
consecjl1e)lcc.
* Sec passngcs of J\lurnau"s Dall'lI
Sjlistrom's Willd (certain of Lilliall
(the character o[ Marcus), etc. And,
(except in Potemkill) and oj' Pudovkill
Furthermore olle must not
",wtl'r;70 all of the modern
with which one
of the films of
pI'< j'
and text is ,I grc[lt deal more it is ;15 if the il1
realistic potcn tiD I or the [ilill ic veil ick, formcrly the proper! Y
of the ('o11\'ention ur a Illoderate degree or discretc'l" thc;ltrical IT;llislll
, the CUlle-Preyert films), had no\\' divided it,clf Iw
twel'll a "cincllla of passion" (in the scnse that Ollt' spe'l](S of "pas
sionate l()\('," ;IS Hen6 Gilson correct!) Jlo[CS),21 a cincllI:! or ('xlIlxr
<lncc and discol'cry C:mcl it is this Cilll'lll;! thai is (lcc1siollalh able to
C[lpturc those so direct truths I hme iust s]loken ur: Wl' kilO\\, tIll' ill'
terest Godard h1S sbown for
other ham!. a cinema or
ALlin and his SllClCSsiyc
that beliCH'S onl" in rccollstrtlcled a
J\Jost critic:, ]'lasled i\oHl'S Varda's 111m, Lc HOll/IeUr. Thm was result ,., dUe
"f "kind llIisllnderstanlIing. I did not like the Ellll (:itllc1'. bllt to attack it
for it;, lack of realisll1 is, to Illy mimI. a serious miscollslruction. Certainly, th,
worl,crs' of life, as the Jil)ll presents it, is lJuite fallta:'lic. Uut it had til be
so. For the is a philosophical talc, such as the eighteenth ccnlm;, enjoyed,
or rather a militant ulopia in the >;lylc of the ninetecnth century (hut Ull-
In a Illor(' Iucill "ecUlmt of the actual sucial factorsalld
the class factors-that enter into Ihe problel11 c(lnsiclercd) 1t js abo,
ill ouc way, an act of courage. For, although it is lrue that a few pers(J1ls in
tile social envIronlllcnt where films arc produced dream of a worl,l in whi,']'
luve would be truly frce, a wurld both animal and human, where
the hudy's carcless;less would also be a genewsitv, a and
of women and men, a world in which
monster of scntiwel1tlllis)II, as il has come to he since
paganism, will be lU1l1ecl-altbough it is true that a futurism of
l10urishes some of the cOllversatiollS ill Paris's Left Danlc, the filet is that, aside
from Pierre Kast ill La Morle-saisoJl, Le Bel and La Bnllure des mille
soleils, no (lne besides Varda had gathered these scattered
snch a holdlv l1IOVOCali\'e These human
conducted away from such
futile sufferinQs of jealous, exclusive emotiol1S, are
existed, as if theV were
TITE ",\IODE)\;'/' CI"iEMA: 'H1EOJ(P.'IlCAL PHOULl'J\J
than i1 is awarc thill orders with meticulous patience ,I
c;d <llltl ,I ('111
Clll<l /\1
cariier, at the limc ,,(t the missed
vcar at Maricllhad? Was the mnl1('siac O/ISCI1CC
tile llllshrrild or not) ('Ic.1; a cillema of tellSe 1Il1c<'rtrllnlv tlwt, ratllci
lhtm plescnting t1w ;Ipollas uF Illc;llling ill ;1 f"rl1l intended [,) il1l:utt,
their ;Ippearann' in daill experiellcc', dclihcratcly <'<ltlstructs ;1
rinthint' Il1(Jdel SOIll(' hiztllTe Illodernistic ritual "'ithin
which th(' 'pI'datllj" will I()se hiLllselr, bnt
ill ;ldv;lLHT,';' OLle could sav tllal /\bin Fk.sn;lls
lack "I' rc;i1islil. nlll is tkll not aho tile verv definilioll 0\
"plativ(' tf:lllsl;lle([ into the IHC'l'llt or the imlicaiivc
Ihesc frec feiatio)bhips are nlre;)dy 1lllC or k"
cirde,; but it' !\gll(:S Vard'i had placed the actiu]) ,d' her Ijlm ill such
the story--which woul,l then be realistic "\\'rlliid hnve lost all tbe
power 01 ih militant impact. For what the film ]]lcans til say that workers, to",
cuuld live like thaL In shurt, the mislIJlderSI<llltling d('fivcs frulIl the Llct Il,al
Il,e fil))} w:r;, viewed '" if "nc wI>uld sec a G,,,lard Jilm as exalllpk ,,(
thc ordered eiDem;" 1 rcpe,lt: I did nut like tbe film, Ilut at all in Lltt. This
was h'r rc)s,,"s [" the cnact11ll'1l1 "f the uto!';" ill its details, Dilt
\NIlo \vould Inailltajn tli;lt \vas nut a celtllin :llUollnt ot CtJurtlgc
ill Ill" fnet that a ll1udcrn \YOllJ<m (all 'pc<lk or sud) lmusllal things,
r"rc how Ciln ()Ill' Llil to SVlllllathi7.C wilh the sinccri!\' of her
'(- In nor Lll a 1 !i[c,
wnnt, the
him, resentment
tr;ll1sccndCnlal and a
liollS (as at the moment of the
nHnantic," l:)S Bernard
llwc/erlles? But he is aisu, in
uf tire French cinema,
Goda I'd represent the two film,
as opposed to a
as for
" we find it on one siele as on the
stance, the triumph of "mimesis" and of the reconstruction
and, in the second instance, a
The lillll of the
til is
of
THE J\IODEHN CINEC>.IA AND NAHHATlVITY 201
modem Ii 1m is
the 'cinematograph Ie
one of dIOse great
whose importance in ccr-
is well known,
lield
A FILl\l-I\IAKrm's CINEMA? Whnt
"11 I1lI or a
maker's cinema" as distinct from
cinema"? Can
it provide that criterion of
since ils conS"(jllellces hut lind il- so difli
cult lo ddillC? There is doubt dial lodav', cinema is very often :1
cinem;l," while the old was so frcquently the ulterior
and secondary illustration of a worked-out, Gocbrcl's
the best exanm1es: criticism like .Michel COLlr
not's evel!
existence fro]]] tllis fact.
it v\'as
the
Ii Ims of the pasl (
and
!lot its prctext in thc sceLlario, But, all of Alain films art' in
'\cript-writer's lilms": "fhe SVSICLlltllic way ill which this di[cc
rdLlsing to imagine his works sccb out, at the of thl'
various colbhortltors of suJlicicnt weight to Iwvl' their OWI1
of things. leaves llS in llO dOl1bt as to his opiniolls on the
ie level that the lilm strati/-ies and
Jilms derive their intcrest hOlll "
<- In lire ulel cinema, there weTe of cmuse Jlonrealistic, m,rrvclOlb, and fan
tastic films, Bllt cunstitllted a marginal area, at least ,iJ)ee the
1935- 4 0 period; Hesnai, is not descendant. The ordered einellla
is one of the two branches emerging Ollt III a snrl of common realistic trunt
that, bctween I940 amI 1950 approximately, had become on the whole
tlolllinant Irenel in relation to the various "fantastic" lenelcllcies,
THE CINEMA: SOJ\I THEOnE'JlC;\L PHUllLUI!S
whole reflectioll on the of tlte of sol1tuclc, a
dnt! C11l0
of essell tially exlra
of Codnrd himself bear
witness (0 a narr,ltivc cl antlsy,
docs llut automat
priority, hut it cl'[t8inly implies an eSSCll
(hat Cmbrd is (lllc of those mell
(Jill" he /ired clurillP tile ,lctua]
men Illli' arc able to make IlIllIs throngll constant rdlecti()11 (cvell if
it is 11"t ordered) ab()lIt the :lIlel who are ahle to creall'
ill the hordcrLllld of ;1 pocur tbat is also ,111 e55;1\' OJ] pO('trv (tile'
rC:H!cr sur,'ly recognizes here onl' of the lllost
Jll()dcrn litcratUl"C'). But even iF, {'ur director like Codard. the cin
ellla, IlllTI til Iv prescll t hcFore n;isting, becolllcs tllC nccessarv cat ;dyst
1m lillll creatioll- in the samc wal thM the idea or the "h(lo]z" is 81
ways
in the minds uf modern even whell the hoolz
t hev ;lre
is hardlv Fact rellFlins that WILlt Collard
or
;]
the
mllmlilt of the
lIarrative
the
sea, P;ll'is, ;1
hie with
story.
" "I do not see why the
modem tban ;lJlvtbing else," Eric
UIlC
point 'Iut t1wt the new
prescnt ill t'he cinem;l
one forgets that between
a dilIcrence uf
V',Jhu reached his maioritv. The
all'
llew novel"]
l'c'sclnblancc is Zl.-S
At tbe vcry least nile sllUuld
narrative," etc).
cinema as
llovd is almust an
slllluid be lllore
in "L'/\n('icl1
certain Siln]
and the l1'-'W
as
extent pheUOJ1lella as
Too
such there exists
old m;lll, ;lIJd the
and
the same
THE ]\IODERN CINE"IA J\ND NAI{HAl1VITY
ever "hroken
and unfamiliar the
1ll8Y
fact never
is olle
of the most proliJic of mudern
remains
true even when, as is oftcn
the scenario is
horn in the midst of
way, only the COIlSC
(jUcnce or thc
of the sccnario froll!
the modern cmelila. or 10
t1wt the only
scenarios me those that ::lrt' Ii!\C the
of mlll Bust.
A CINEMA OF TIlE SHOT? Is the lllodem cinelli a
ctlll'll1;1
or the "shot," as distillgllishcd frum the old cincllw, which
W;IS JJl(lrc
cOllcerned with racing fwm shut to shot, strais:ht to the
But jf that is the case, what is (lJlC to say
the expressionist CCrlll;Jll eXI )ressi,)Jl iSIll
the LIst
Jilms or
is ;111 (lId OJH'.
that
cOllnotations at
cinellla not
ilctcristics of the Ilew cincma? Is not the
of kind of V:lst C:\istclltiai failure
ohserves, Cll]111IlIl11ic;Jtcd
J1]Olltage) Is not Sa/1'alore. GiuliallO a mOlltage lilill
lIiusie cinl'ma --and tllM was grounded to a hirgc extcnt OIl the
of inducing a IJorizolltal leading of tbe lihn that I\'ould COllSidcf cadi
at length? J\lJd Wll<ll, on tIw olber Iwnd, is OJlC to sal' the
grcllt f1!llaisSIlII('(' of wOllla,:';") whicll, after a period dominated hI' the
from encl (0 end? As for the yuuthflll dynamisllI (If Claude l.cl()uch's
[lUI'. Fillc des fusils, is it not derived as lI1uch fWIll the of
the 111m as from the wonderful exuberance of its lllOllt:lge? ;\nd Wh;ll
of the imDort:mc(' (If
SIOJlS
in the nd r
thought. Tire fact j,;, huwever.
SOlllC(;;le says, H$ one
hears, that thc cincma is "far,
of htcratlll'l\ one must C(lll
elude he n{ust never have read anvthiw> at all.
204 THE "jVl(JDEI1N" CINEMA: S01\JE THEORETICAL PROllLEMS
rative flow, also confessions of 2 to 7 ,mel 111
Vivre sa vie? And the and in
Hiroshima /11011 omour, a counterpoint lhat, despite its modern
cent, seems to emerge straight from the editing table of a Balilzs, an
Arnheilll, a Pudovl,in, or;1 Tilllocilcnko? And all the {JIm
one sees ,
J\ CINEMA 01: POETP,Y'? rem;llIlO;, lmall y, the !lotiOIl, IT'
by Pier Paolo of a dislinction between
the "cincma 01' and the "cinema of poctry," As attract inc as il
illay se(,IIl., the idea nevertheless basicll1)' fragile. For llle
of "prose" and "poclry" arc too linked to lhe use of the verbal
to he cClsilv carricd over to the cinel1w, Or elsc, if "poetry"
in
sense (>1'
whether 'lln:essful or nOI,
sidcrs poetl\, ill its tcdmical SC]lSC Ihe lise of Icrbal idiom
restrictions
a sC(JlHI code cappillg Ihl' iirsl--'()IlC
idi()m, 1\lsolini is
with
its I)f()adest SCI1Sl'--'as the illlllledi,ll(' Ilrcsenn: of the world, the
cncoun
seems SIUll101ll1l:1hlc: The ,dlSl'IHT or
code ill (he cincma, th;ll is, the absCllce of
aware o[ Ihis
precision:!l gut Ill' believes
,111 things c()nsidercd, it can he circ1ilIly<;nted, I helieve, UIl tbe
,md bter I will show wIn, Further
more, t() these obstacles one must add still ,1!lOtlwr: The
prose," in Wh,l(c\'('r S(,llSC it is gin')], has 11(1
the cincma: and iF ,I pros(' docs exist in the lexical
in distinction to poetrv and because a long rhetorical tradilioll has
divided into two a domain that is initially litemry (for prose,
that of a Chateaubriand or of a Sten
spca
is aJ
and nol
from
ready the artistic use of language anu
IItiliti1rian language; it creates ohjecls that have their own
and
ilwt leads trulll Ihe
l'lTI;lin \','av frolH
THE 1\IODEnN CINE:\IA i\T"D ,'US
at which lhru:;t or
tor the it IS
lie I'cr thCe!
CUllllllllnicHiul1: it lTCiltCS work;;, The
poetr\' and prnsc J1JS IfIc,1l1ing <1nly within
(111(' that 1:'cparatcs literal.lIre fmlll thl'
I"c'
of idiom :IS a to()1. ;\nd it is this Lllim:lrv distin,'fiOll (licit is
ill
cinema, S(I Ihat no 11111] Gill
sIT iel sellse,
ll( Ir,
Su
oj' Pas(,lini';-; :II
least for
rdurn 10 tilC'111 1:11<..'1'; let us l'X;l11J
ine Ilis Ihesis
i,;(o]v ur til(' l'illl'lll;!. If tJlcrc is
sil]o\c trelld
h IJ or Ihi, histo!'\'. it is indeed II1l'. U!le'
eillCll];1 tu Jill' J](.\'('I,'i111'1I1il,tl1al i.... II) ,Sci \ ,
the "C1111..'111;1 "f jll'l'lr\'" til till' '",inl'ma o[
l)fose," and 11"1 (he othn \Va, around, Pasolini Itlllis
Ih'CI'III.I-which arc nol rart' in die modern CinellI;]
struclllrt's; I1l' lcnds also (0 tll(' must hC:llltifu
fillllS 10 (be dullest li'ddilil)]);tl movies, <llId he tI( Iwl L'ol)sidlT lhl'
poeln il) 1\ J)ollhle /0111',
PUllr Iii Suile ill! 111001ilc,
or Dewier
aloul,
of
fillllS, Olwj()lIsh' lhere is more
till' {'iallo
Preside III ,
ill( Cmu" pli/rulI,
C,1l) onc
uf which
fur Olle l(l scc
fnr tl.1C
Ill' SLlhst:II1CC :lud Corm of cadI nnc
,mel less ladie;! I h
(he older Ii
djll'ers
>Ill
be suilieiclltiv CC'lt,lln tlla( IhL'
Pasolin 1 sJl( ';( b rCl'fCSCll ts <l
in it il]('
,,,
bC<'illll
CillC'Ill:1?2<i !\nd is it
Jillal ;1ll;]lys]s, ('(Infused with il1;11 inevilable slIbjedive l'OIUmlioll oj'
the filmie objccth its {llming is ;) Ch;llUCil'l'i,lje
of aJI tillCmil-SO that the olliv real dilfercnce \\.uuJcl Jillal/v he tlw
,mel prose perceptions, whith can only he dnrilicd hy d1C
ul' eaeh film and docs no(,
with Ihe existCJlcc of general restrictions
from
____ _
206 THE "MODEHN" ClNEI\Ij\: SO:\IE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS
further is it not, alllong the liIllls that scem the must outmoded
todi1\'but not always righth,-that one encounters the most cohercnt
and systcmatic attempts to COllstmct a hIm as one :1 poem?
\i\lhat ahout Pudovl<in's "lvrical " which Jean iVIitl"y has so
well \iVlw! ahollt the corOlWlion scene in [van lilC Terri
or th: proccssion hefore Vakulintchllk amI the scelles of mist in
Po/clllbll( What ,Iil()Ut Abel Ganee in Nupo/coll and La Roue? AmI
ttlt' attCII1Dts of the "pllre cinema" to substitute a einl'll1<l or tlzellles
And Jean Lpstein's enthusiastic analyses of the
value of the c1ose-ujl shot? And the lise of slow motion in the
in Zero for Conduct? And ;111 the systems of montage
mentioned earlier, vvhose aim \vas to forlllalize the various 'ilmic
10 solidify the thematic "depth" in the normative pre
a formal svstcm? I\m] the accelerated
ing in the scene with the hlack coach ill N ()SfefUflI? j\nd the inered
iblc ;Icrial traveling ,hot in
me ali, indeed, in$t,1I1CeS of those "gramlllatical elewellts ,IS
flillCtiom:'2B that P,Isolini tellds to idclIt ifv wi th the new
cinema, III trulh, though tmlay's cim'm<l is at times rich in
resonances, tl}()['gh the had films of every I)criod hy definit
elude the s(j,clilcd puetry "of thillgs" ,llld the or their
zaliull, the fact remain;. that the only attempt, that havc been lInder
taken toward Ilut only a poetic eincnla bUlals() a cinema as organized
idiulII-sinec this is what Pasolini is talking about-were, pre
ill tllC old cinema," I\ml the fact is that, since its hirth, the
cinema has pr<lctically nt:Vl'r ceased to evolve ill the direction of an
ideal (technicallr prosaic) lIexihility and a freedOil I that arc
", T" mv mind these atlempts have culminated in a failure which, 01\ the
level uf general C<lllllOt be overcome hy the few ll1uglliliccnt but isolated
suceesses, A Iilm may a poetic novel, it C8l111ot be a (except in the
case uf purely thematic, nUJ1story-telling short lilms, like Berlill ur
SucksdoriFs Rllyt111H of a Git)', In a poem there is no fable, amI nothing ill
trudes between the :)uthO! alld the reader. The novelist draws up a world; the
I'oet of tIle work!. The fiction film still seems to me to be closer to the
novel tu the poe111, And, finally, the period in which one believed that a
film cuuld be a pOl!m is that of the old cinema rather than that of the lIew
cinC111a.
_ ____ ._".__ , __.. , _____., ____, __, ______________________ __
THE f-l0DERN CINEMA AND NARllATIVITY
20
7
W<l\S,
of Frall
(tbe cinema "s a modern suciological
novel), /\ndrc llazin ;lnd the
to the novcl rather than
or
i'
iou peCl! lia r to mUll y
lISC or the
powers of (he within the framework of til(' rclatiVl'lv
"realistic" lilm's verisimilitude), More gcnerally, one will obcrvc
tIle sCH'alied fantastic cinema, whieh ill certain carlv periods
emile vcry close to merging with one of the ILIainstreams of the
cinema as a whole (Gcrm,m-Swcdish expressioll ism hOlll 19
1
t()
1<)3
0
, the fant:Istic lilms of the period 19:jo'\5, sllch ,IS FraJlkeN
stein, T/lC J1H,isilJlc 1\11(111, and Kill,!!, J(OIJ,!!,), eventually became ,I
,!!,Cllfe, and a ralher special genre ,It that, which even ill part over
"vhat the French call the ei!l(;11111-/;is: horror films, gmdc>Bltalian
sadistic Japanese lilms, Soviet fantasy'
etc. As a tllC so called realistic film, which has long
been contrasted to Ihe fanta,tie film or to the film or the marvclous
as ir were the two poles or the cinema mel this is
the famolls theme: "I "ull1icre l'S A;JcIiJs"), blS taken uver ,limosl the
whole or modern film,
Ihe new cinellIa ;lS the JIO/icca/Jic jJl'CS<'llc'l'
in traditional lill11s, Oil the contrary, the
camcra tried to JIlake its prcsence unfelt, to ll1,llzc itselF invisible hc'
rore tbe spectacle it was presenting. But, whilc it is true that this
may apl)l), to certain filllls or the 11(1I-s(Hlistant
classical Americall comedy, for example, and in
III e films
related to what called editing" cia,,
was made to appear invisible-it cannot describe tllC
various tenclencies or the very cinema whose
on the
were based on the presence of the call1era: mOll
or Abel camera movcmcnts in
films, the optical clistorriom and
...L..
TIlE IO[IEHJ'< CINE:\[!I: St),\H', TJll'UCETlC\1 1:.\ ,,;
TIlE ]\IODIlRN CINEi\Ti\ AND NAHnATIVITY
ii, the lIS ()f dlc T'rellch s
cI"oc-up< in TI;;; Pussioll of /\re ill ,,('sthet ics
[kit th,,! IITt i('i,ms Iike ]' i;;cllstcill
in lI,iml whcll thel' imisled
[illl1ed deri It'S hi the rilmimf, '\Ild ('(In
',)
verselv, \\ilhill Ill(' 111<ldcrn cinlma tiICI'C is ;1 lcndclHv Dill'
ivis\"-JtdlJllCr. SOIlIC "I' i\llj()l)iol1i. "F Dc St'I!I.
,mel Ill' the cil/('lI!(f ele Ilel thilt card'ulh "crilSCS" ,lI1\' C,IIlICr;!
cI Fcc!s; tilliS, (Ill thiS 110im [ am ill a,'ilccnwlll with nuillllcr,
III
,
dUII1l/Ill/ali(HI
Ihc'!ill'l ;lIld I
:11111
!llld
Ihe invisihlc
f()r Ihe
the
dll'Sl' Ulllll'plu;ti pC!
found ill till' lilills "f
Licit
)\'[sul :11111
I",,,k rell
CI's ('111('111:1,
t' Illl' m:l,
hese
or I hc
['.,'allln'
,lllti
ISll! !'!lel LIIJltr[Vancc, [ihn maker's
shut c'illCllI<I ililel sequence (ilWllld, prusc Cill(,lllil
lhc Cillll('f.l-in'l'ICSl'lll"t' alld
tillcliOlls s('cms to me to ,ICCOUill
lIludern
cLlililcd ,I, "Illodcm" i, too ol'lell
to" ,,1'1('1i is bcLillg ill
W;ls PI(lp"s('d with ('1(,J]('l' II' n'r!;] IIiIlI:, 01 tll(' 1"1:,1
10 ClTlclill llIodClil lill]IS;11ll1 hal
!ruc-hut wilh ll!l drOll ,1I11'1,iCI1I
Ill)ssihk, I1l1111IK'1 01'
!l n d llempl is
l!t(; few p"gcs III,,! follow,
"t1V;llIcC lhe inevitable
lui h Sill is! i",I
til In: (Ill('
n()le. lirsl, tlwt il all l'\!llll[lll'd ,11,\)\,(,
rC:1S(lIJ. Tlle'v ,11'(' Sil
the cinCllW was IS S( l
is s(, <,It 10 a much kSSCI extent. I hdievl' "11 til('
the modern film is IllOl'e ll,lI'I'<itin', <Ind IlWIT silli,,1
the main contribulion of the new cinema is lu have
flhllic narrative.
cunll.lry t1J<1t
so, ,md th;ll
enriched the
lVlore or less :lssociaLecl with this idc,l of a presumed
ur wea kcu ing or 1I:11TMi viI y is, <llllOJ] g lll,my critics, Ihe 11 ()tion oJ a
hrcahlow11 or Ihe "gramlllar" ()r "sVlltax" uF the cineilla. I wuuld s"),,
on the contrary, that the cim'lll;) hilS lIe!'(?/' h;ld cit her ,1 r or ;t
in tile prccise linguistic sense or thest' tenliS (S()l1le Iheort'li,
that it did, hut [I)M is allot her Illatter 1'<111\('1', il
toela\' still a certaill Illlllll,CI' of rUllciulllL'll
that pcr!ilin 10 the mosl profolilld necessities or
!ransmissiu11 of inform:,I;,," ''''l11inl,,,,;,.,,1 !;IIVS dl:11 arc ex,
arc to he sough! in
and no! ill tile gl'<ll1llllill' or
1a1lgU<lgl's. TIll' wjl()1c Illutldll' or til('
the fact tIl"( Olle looks for
<l1l1()I1U the
aud spcciJic
"
V(TV rClllovcd !'rom
rl'a Ii t\' ') i,] iOIlI;1 ti ('
without
laws all' lliost prohahly
bC\,Ol1d the
expects to lind is 10 sal', Ull
a IIlllch
ill some WllyS prior to lhe dilfciCllli:lti()1l
or \lcrbnl
all il
e
, idiOilis') Frolll othcr lllllllan semiotic
wstems,
\Vc told
was suited l<J
sv11 Lu.:" llO
['xists, Iklt
the livill<' rJ11il s
t() do with sllch iI hurden, Bul
Ihml beiliU acllwIlv synt<lclir
,""
articubliolls ,ralher
de S;llIS
CIIlCI1lH elll be
VOlin, ,
, ,':")
excesses
of Ihat, during the period of "dill; !lInglle"J1, amI C\'l'1l
IaLer, was considered to be as strict a;; the grammar of a verbal
gU:Jgc, But the new, more Hexiblc, forms or the cinellld arc gov
erned just as mllch the fundamental without wllich
110 information would be possible; a discourse of SOIllC' is al
wavs, in olle way or another, divisible. The
-
these rule, have llothilll' to do
('rab1<, little "cleviees,"
was
on tile '/;;lm York, 10,",1, To Ilush them aside-as
2IO THE ";\,IODETIN" C1NEIIIA: SOi\IE THECmrrnCAL l'HOBLEMS
it tried to he nOI'I11<1
aim is to
but it admits tu
verbal Imwu;we, the
ollr lilLlguages, And we know the CXtl'llt or the gap bctwcen the
and the normative "gt"allllllariall," ",hiel! was illustratl,d ill
j()6::; by the l'XrlWllgC, puhlished ill Arts, hct\\,(,l'l1 Elil'l1lhll' ;llld M;n
tind,:;' Evcn the l1)ost "allv<lnccd" filllls still pertain to ;J
<q11)],OdCh, tlwugll ill order to apprclll'I1l1 new ()\Jjecb, the 1;lttlT llla\'
have (,) bccomc mure Hexiblc, ns I will show ill s(,veral
her (lll,
hI ;,hmt, tW() \'crv llilTcfCI11
"rules" or the
cincma: On
derivcd i'rolll
a 1/ul'!/lal irc
hc considered outdated
or tbell'Ssl\, restrictive:."c,! 011 till' other 11a!ll1, there arc a certaill 1l1l111
Jwr of' stJ'llctllralcol1liguratiulls th;lt are ill ill'll!:ll rnLl laws alld whose
details arc consLllltly evolving, When OIlC S;IV, tbc I,lllls (IF the
"lll'W w;nc," for cxmllplc, have ullnplctclv "dismantled the Ilarra
livc," or th'lt tbey h:l\C(, "Clltirel\' displaced Wllt;lx," OllC is fC;III" tak
illu ;1 ven limited vicw of the
,,",
"llalT,lt ive" :lllt!
, \vith ll() rdatioll
a purely 11ll'OlogIC:l1 (lr COlllIlll'! Ud! cudi
to the
llimic vehick as :I wh(1lc
It is prl'cisdv t() the extellt th;lt tlll'\' rl\l<,'l'
..,. Of the two, the lingui,t Wlb Andre' 1\1:ntincl.
<"\C j\nother suurcc or lllisllndcrs18nJing: The ne\\' cinema has
very rightly so-a !lumber of "mIl'S," sueh (lS the prohibition the 180
degree angle shot ('I' the taboo gnillg from an establlshlllg shot tu a close
up with no change of axis, or n<rainst the actor at the cam"ra, etc,
THE l\IODEHN CfNEi\IA AND NAImATIVITY II
tklt the inl1o\'<uiollS of the youllg cillellla arc
so, far frol1l delllonstrating tile llonexist
(,lJeC' o[ lIlev ,Ire rcallv discovering new syntactic regions
while rellwilling (at least as long as thc\.' arc intelligihle, :IS is the
case ;tlmost ;tlways) elltirely submissive tu the rUllctional
lI1cnts of [iImit discourse, llllJiwl'illc nnd Last Year at j1,joril'llZ)(ld arc
still, from one l'nd to the other, /iIIllS, and
<1ny
""l'ludes the (Icsniptivl' SYlltagllla;
;til inl\1m'l<lW "lid l'lld ill Paris r.";lt
least ill the present slatc or Cilll'lll:Jt(lgraphic t",'hniqucs); a 11(1I](li
cgl'tic illl<lgC must ill (lIlC way (If ,m()ther he linked t() a diq.:ctic ill!
n,(;,l', ()J' it will not ,Ippear to he lllllldil,(;,ctic, etcY:: But sllcll
hm'l' llcvcr l)('cil seri()tlsly triL'd hy Ii I1ll-11ml,crs, ulliess ]lcrll<ljls--aml
CVCIl ,itl'll OJll' would han' to ('-"<Imine the lIlatkr 1ll()l'C
sUllie (,SlrelllC aV;lilt gardist who
drort to lIlake hilllscll' understood Ci1]('11I<ItO
to the Jlarrat fictioJl liiln /\nd
lilllllllakcrs Ill'Yl'I' :ltlC1ll(lt tt) C()llstl'll('t stich
\0 thaI thc\' l'xist, is precisely
hCl,lllSC the llIain Ilglll'l's or cillclliatogr,lphic illtclligihilit\C illll:lhit
their Illinds Ii) a IllLlel1 grcater l'"kllt than the\, arc ;nvarl' oF, Sillli
Imh', (he lIlost (lrigil1;d \c\'ritcr d()l's ]]((t attempt tu L1SlliOll ;111 t'llt
Ilew Llilguagc,
IV
That is wlly HOW of tht' cillema
and la ke a more and lechnical and from this
return to the d the tbcories, which,
more than any other attempt at defining lill1lic I l10llcrnity, Irv [0
delillc tbeir subjcct precisely and go beyond thc stage of gencral im
pressions,
'1
212 THE "I'\,lODEHN" C1NEi\fA: SOM,E THEOHETICAL Pl\OBLEi\lS
TIm "nH:;F,GNI" on [CONIC ,\NALOCY? 1\t lirst: glance, our 311tllOr
s;lys, there is nothing in the cinema correspondillg to what idiom is
for tbe writer. Tbat is to say, there is no codaied instance prior to
the actual aeslk,tic undertakillg, Fine. Nevertheless, Pasolini contin
lies, one Hlust assume that there is something in the cinema that, in
olle way (It another, assumes the sallie role as language in
sincc the constant fact is thai' tlll' l'incJI)il is not all "abortion," that it
is able (II cOllllllunic:ltc.:
14
It is at this point, I hclievl" Ihat the lllore
statclllell ts : An artlsllc semiotic svstcm, Sill'll as
the cinema, can functiol1 pcrfec(l" "vel I withoul the assistancc ()f an
initial codified The cincma is in the same as
Ilrativc 1ll Claude LeviSI ra uss's T'I/(; Hall' mId
the Coohed: The first level of articubtioll hv the "natural"
tllill in the
ill the picture 011 the screen).
Literature res languagc. hecause the soulld hy tlte
vocal org,lllS possesses no intrinsic llll';llling. Thcreron' it 11;]s to hc
arliculaled 10 ,ll'lllirc mean \Vhidl is withheld from "inarticulate
Ihe two arliculatiolls dIal C(lllsli1l11(' languagc,,that of
ami Illat 01' the J1l0nClllCS, in 1\ndre Martinet's
other dwn the illcvit,lhlc eTl',ltiH' iIlSI;II1CCS or
.('., dl'l1otatcd i/icatiull), hlckillg which Ihe
OJ] which to project Ihe illtl'l'play uF l'onno'
lations. But the Ii 1m 'I na ker docs 1101 work wi th voea I suullll in iti,l
His ray\' maleri;ll is (he illlage-thin is to sav,
whieb always
or aI lcust codi
liable, language, delines as
an inJeJ'
thelll, tbe lilm maker is
as the writer (keeping in mind the
the written). 1\s for "real noises," raise essen
the SilllIC problems as do images, to the auditive dimensilJn.
One mllst nut confuse sonorolls and yflOllic: sound of the worl,l has its (J,vn
meaning (the locomotive's whistle, etc.); a phouic sound acquires pre-
only by means of the linguistic '
THE ,\WDEIIN AND NAnnATIVITY

'1/, _etc') awl thai
til(' ";llll(jIllOhilc" froll! "Ira
rite Cillc'IlI;1 <1ITiv('s at the sallie results
not wh()se cJllci,hltion
llnCliol1 i!llu ;m additional illSLlIlcc
,thclic;d ,mel ;](h'Cnllll'Ous::
G
, il is, 1l1!11'h JI10re
lest and least connoted plll)logr;lph of ,1l1 ;lll
I (I I Ill' ",lli,'h ;1
"Illy 1)\
hall' "aul<llllo],ile" h))' its
mlinlbliol1s
Df its 1l101H'1lH'S
alld cIII, /Inti
\'l'J'\ ,J.i I
1'1)1" ill (lIlI'
p;lrlicul;lr lilms, .. hnl I]()I
dl'(l)('si IlI(Th:lllislll of lillllic inlellcelioll. 1101\ is OIH' to
ulHlcrsl:IIHlli P;]solil1i asb, wilhoUI SllIl1cho\\' ;1 LI1()wl
cd"c "I' till' s\llIh"/ie \';lll](,s Ill' tlll'Sl' I'islial 1111,1;'(',' "1'(';1111 illl;I"('S,
'" " ,'")
III' ilH' JIll'lllor", Ill' l'IlJllli0I1;1 d d;lih Iii
\liill [heir \1 lli.le lo;ttl or i1ll pi leit l'\tcllsinllS fill' ('ilch S' \ :llld ('ilch
givell 111 \Vulll" Il"
OhSClIl'l' hUI (Illile red
iL tu Llkc' ;1
Cdr III
CO/lsiliS W;IS ;] spprts ('ill', with all t11;lt this implies ill IWl'lllit'lh
dic!illlli!lV
l'\<1J11/'ll', \H'
til(' [ul;1i tllllkrsl:llldiIH' or a
Ii" Pasolilli [;db "hout:
);11')\\ thai
lilY Fnullc, (hl' peri()d pI' dlt: jilIn. But :dl !lIe' S;1111l' 11'('
beCilw;c we would sec it, Ib;n it is ;] C<1r, illld that w(Julll
us t(J grDsp the dl'lll!/ct/ mcanin,g of tltl pilssugl'. Ll'1
that ;1Il Eskimo wilh no ('\jlcricllCP Dr induslrial
/;]liOIl mighl not evell be ,'Ihk 10 recogni/c the car! For ",h;lt Ihe Es
kimo \Flllid he laclzil1!! ill would Jlot he tJ 1(' abiJitv lu
it would nut he his
21-} THE "MODEHN" CJNEl\lA: SOME TlIEOHE't'ICAL PHOBLEflfS
that would he dcficiclIt hut of
social car-as soon ,IS it exists
in the like ,111 other objects (lj'
and a child in our society Iws IlO more (rouble idcntifying
a (rllck th:111 he docs a ('It.''
" As the readE'r C:l11 see, this passage devoted to the ideas of Pier Pool" P:ISO'
lini-which was writtcll carly in 1966-is ,I llli:\tlll'C of alld mgU]JlCllt.
The rC<lsom for this dUl1blc aitilllllc, whicll has nut the llle<llltimc bccn
lllodified, mc clearer 10 'I](: [odav. to the cxtent that
graphic :md
(,lila. h:rs becoLllc
Pasolini's
as this discussion shows. the icon
_ to cach sociocultural group :lIld
themselves would have llO [ am I](,t in
the l\\istCllCC PI' such instances; ,illlply, what]
l'nsolillian ilk" that thcse ('()(lilications ,,)rc!/(/]'
the\' are of lbe sanle IHlture '\'iIH'lll:lt{;
Inllgllage," wI"", li,:st I,'vel they \nlllht cOI1.;.tilllt(, ;." that till' fllili'
iI' !,Jlcll would always he constrained 10 handle (or partially to invellt')
two lang11:lges that of the "illlSl'gni" and thai "I the cinellla.
Tll('rdorc, ,virat seellled to Ill(' to be "cl(Hlhtful" and a "bunlcIlSOllll' artifact."
and all "addil ioual ;notancc "penly pre;.clltccl by Pas()lini himself ;];.
thing "civcntllJ'(Jl]S ;]n() hypotheticaL" is not the "imse,!no" itse1l'.
jmlilicd elc\'atiol\ to the levcl or
with the conseqllellcc
'" the code of
of our mnch mOle tlwn to cillclllCltogr;1l'hic
insist so IIlIlC], on the idea that, for a l'rt!j!criy sClI1ioli,.'.
the lirst level of (i.e.. the onc that is 10 the lillnmaker a;. hnguagc
is to the writer) is not made tip of "imscgni" but of visual and auditory <lIlal,,
gie" If tIle llovel's readcr is able to recll.oniLc a ill the it is tlwllLs
II! the linguistic 'mit "clog," lind if the firm.viewer within tllc
lilm's stury t hat is Ihanks to Ihe image's visual analogy with a This
does nut prevent, for a more genera I semiotics, many of t he that
Pasolini deSignates as from being reintroduced mId
within analogies (sec abOl'c, p. 1 J for it is the pecnliaritv codes
cudcs)
THE 1\lODEnN CINE,\tA AND NARHATlVITY 2I5
Froll1 the presumed existence of Ll primary of "imsegni"
(which is codifiable, but never really c(ldiliecl), Pasolini deduces the
idea th:lt the f11111llwker is ohliged to invent:l bnguage {lrst (i.e., the
altelllpt (0 j,oLttc c!c;lrh the "im-scgn and then an art-whereas
the writer, wllO .theady possesses the can allow himself to
the mis
the fact
lhat it is
visual and auditory information. Tn otlin words, when very hroadly cultural
[jlmsas thcy do l'fl'ljllC'ntly, especiaU): whcn ';IlC thinks
of the contents of individnal /illlls-thcy em: orten prcscnt i'11 fir" hlll/.!!,!' ilsc1f
(or ill Ibe soulld ibeIr)-that is to say, within th(' "analogy," or at a )Joillt that.
in relationship tu the total CCOIlOIllY "I' the Illmic signilication;., is disti1lCt from
that occllpied hy the codilicltions that constitute what olle calls "cinclIlato
graphic language." The image uf the wheels of the traill derives from
w,t frolll thc cinema; wlicll it appcars on the scrcell it is identified hy \
allalogy with the r(,:11 wheels of a train, and il is thanks to this resemblance
that the Ellll is able to carry all the 3ddilional si"llillcatlolls associated with this
image in culture. Bnt if till' image is ordered
alternalc J111 >ntager
one that
ami is sll])erimposc(I
CillCI1Ltlo
()J1('C lire] ore

large seglllcl1 ts 01
such as alternation,
to dIe eillema is tbe
in relation to c:I('h uther-that
of the syntagm<ls, On
cuntrary, there is no system
are sel'erai of these
films, but that is matter).
-1
216 THE "1\\ODEnN" CINI\1\IA: S()\1E nlTIOHETlCAL pnOBlF1\IS
his aesthetic inlenlions and his
that- he is occasiona\lv able 10
onn liahle to hccolll(, a "Fact of
conventional
dCllotat inll t(lda v
result of the
111,NHvVAL OF SYNTAX" vVc kllow t1wt
structures, such as thc the allnnatc :" ll
the hr;lcLl't scquellccs, etc" which
:,lructll res, ,uch
for jlJTce,sioll) lor ('x
sllccession as the sigllilier rur
disLml Stlccl's:ii()lI), c[(',-:Ir(' <lIl1"llg th()se lIgllrcs or (,(JIIll(lt;!ti()!l tll:lt
h:l\T, ill tillil', :!lso hCCOllll' inll'lli,gihlc pM(cms ur dCIl(ILltio)l, N(lW,
what is illiporLlllt t" noll' i, Ih,lt IIlW,t of thcse sctlliol()gicli figures
h:1I'C' ll(Jt Llllcil <lut (If lIse :tt :Iil hut <Ill', oil the C(}lltr:l1'\', ill currelll
lise ill the lllmll'rli l-inClll:]' Not, ur course, th,ll the oj' figures has
rClll<lillCd 11Ilch:lIJgl'll frolll (:rillith 10 (Jur tillles. III the cillCtl1<l, t(IU,
there is ,I diachrony. It wUllld he easier tll I)icl, olll pnl('('durcs lhal
IWH' aged: the l101ll1icgclic llH'upllo[ as rC!H'\\Td hv (
as \\l' will Sl'C ill :111 c)"llllpll' further Oil ). s]()\Y-JJlo(iol1, :tcccicrated
IlH,tiull, Ihe usc or the iris dinpllr;lglll (cXL'ent for lloswl"ic :llld llll
lllorollS "(Iuutatiun": S/u)ol II-n'
OIl
this techniquc: the I1rst SC![lll'IlCt' ill UIIl'
iITVlTSC-,,]]()t in it:, lllcchanical f()i'1ll
the Sl clle in the Paris
THE MODERN CINE)'IA AND NARRATIVn'V 2 17
Ie fou, with Anna Karina's lovc song, is handled in a lIlorc llcxiblc
form of these normal evolutiolls, one
should think I \Vice hdorc that cinematographic svntax has
been "completely throvvn overboard." The license of poctic inspira"
tion must not be confused with sOllie impossihle license un the level
of the deeper 'lI'tieuhItiollS, whidl, evcn if they are partiall\' arbitrary
and arc Furthermore ill ,I cOllstant state of evolution, nevertheless
guar,llltcc, within givvn s\l1clmmic conclitiolls, the correct transmis
sion uf information, Only the and th(lllghl--if
'illch a thing exists-Gill (perhaps) hl' rC1l1()\'cd from such a i<lw, FWIll
thc llloment tll,lt sayin,l! occurs the desire to COl1l111lllliGlIe, con
CCrtl for the public, a certain number of rest ric
tiOIlS ;Ippcar, which ch,tr,lcterizc the cxnrcssioll of t hOll[1ht r,ltller
thall thought itselF, thaI is, if tllC two til
Hather thall ic syntax, wc
arc trend of
dCl'd
or less
'>
II IIII J,
which
scene,
flgu res
, Let LIS COlJ-
SI) f,lr, I have idclllified, hum dIe origills or tlte cinCIll;1 to dH'
a limited number of ]Jllsic sVl1t<lgm;ltic
Now, there is a passage in G()dard's Pierrol 7(' fOil that Gml10t
he reduced to any of these models, or 10 any variation of these mod
" 1 am 1I0t using (he wort! figllm in tll<' sense of a uf (or of
is (0 say, as a means or connotation-out in a much hwadcr sense:
,IS any characteristic and recognizable synwgmatic This use of
the wore! is justified hy thc confUSion, pEculiar (0 the COI1
nutative al1ll dCllotative patterns.
21 THE
II
.MODEHN
"
CINEIIJA: SOME THEOnETfCAL PllODLEl\lS
le:1\'(' the
:1l1d Hee
1Il " red
which is ill
the sidc\valk ill Frollt
the frOI! t of the
of the d"\'arF
egctic point of occur sevenl1 minute,; bier
since we now sec the 404 rapidly alollg the hallks 01' the rivcr.
The P<lSs:lge I hus sever:]1 lllHlSlWl From the
h;mks ()j' the rin'J' we go hIck to the drainpipe; the clltrance or the
car :It the root ,,(, Ihc huildino is ilselF showll two or three limes
,,"">
slight vmi<ltiolls ill Ihe 11()sition :mel in tile 1ll0VClllCllts or lhl' ch:!r
,lclers (vuri:lti(lns th:lt remind LIS rat]ICT or :l COllstrlldioll dear to
Crillct: 1'(' IIoycur, 1(1 1\-1 uisOJI de rC/ldc:;:;
TllCrCrmc, ill this synt<lgllw, tilllc' d,)l's not fllnctioll <ll'conllllg III
a vectori:l1 SChclllc--a schellll' t Iwt ('oITCSI)OlHIs [0 Ihe simplest :md
ll10st l'Ol1ll1l01l n:urativc procedure; it C:IllIlO! he " lincar lwrr,ltivc
(i_e" sccne, ordin:!ry sequellcc, (JJ' cpisodic sccluellce). Nor
IS II <Ill :dlcrlwte synt:lglll.l, for tll(' ;lltCIII:1lillg illl.lgcs do Ilot reFer to
silllultaneous lTl'llts hut to l'learlv slicceeding events (the shots of
the roadw:! v :lIllIE' t hc river
"a!tcrn:l
tive" variatioll or the <Iltcrn:!tc ists h;l\T
Illade several trips hack :mel amI the
river IXlllk still less docs it
it
that of sp:Jtial cocxistcnce,
since the passage ill
THE l\JODEHN crNE;I.[A AND NArmATlVITY 19
tive action, but quite c1c:nly a sillgle succession of uni(]ue (lL'CUr
rences. Nor is it an eX:llllplc of the bwckct syntagnw, for in tIlis
illst:ll1CC the fillll obviollsly shows ;1 singliLir event ill its OWll lL'lI1lS
and not in tefms of SOIlle' other ['vellt (that is, there is !lot the slightesl
at c<ltegorizalion). Last, it is not;1Il mllOIlOIllOllS silot. since it
cont<lins sevenl images corresllOlHling to n single unit of the dicgcsis.
It is in bct ,I killd of disloc<l\ed SC<JUCllCC, highlv c)'prcssivl' of the
Ihe fever. :lnd the rdndOllllll'SS 1)[ existence r1y idcn
of dellot:]tion). In tlK Illidst ()f the frellzy of the
(lenotation!, it presenls :1<; equal
a sort of scM-confessioll of narmtivit\'. :lJ]
awarelless of its O\\,ll fahlic nature sevcr:lI different \':lri;l
of' a rr:llltic csc:m('. suilicil'lltiv similar to each other nevertheless
\\-hi"h we will never know
I'll lake its uutlined ()CCLIITClill'S,
, Llccd
curate sellse 01' (JthC'r
claimed lIe \\';IS
acttwllv he realized.
tiun curresponds fai
llis own experience: There ,He
of 1Ilind
diet tbe possible outcome to
psvcbol(lgical ,lCntClll'SS ill the imagin:llivl'
v;uinnts tlJ:lt, ill [he given context, :Ut'
hility th'lt is realized.) .In the passngc we
CodaI'd would S(,('lll to lw]ollg to the second sinc(' Ill' is ahle to
suggest with :1 grC:J1 deal of truth, hut wilhout clclCrIllin the out
CO]l1C', s('vcr,1i possihilities at tbe samc time, So he llS a sort or
I'otclltial SCfIIWI1CC--,lll ul1(ktermined
Hew tvpC' ur s),nt;]glllil, :l IlOVel form of the
thai remaiJlS entirely (/ figure of IIm-falit';t)'
difTerenl l'V('llts, places, timC's, Ulle ctc,-iil tbe same IVaI'
that ill the same film the shots of the HClloir p<lintillgs COllstitute a
220 TilE "1\IODEHN" CINE:\lA: SOME 'rHEOHE'J'ICAL PHOBLEl\IS
relitalizHtinn of the old nondiegctic
the sillce the of Eisenstein
statnes of Octol)el',
["here would be lllany other examples to examine: The still
grapll, which IHid been little used up to now and to whieh Rudolf
Arnhcim gave ol1ly n very modest ill his montage c1lart 'i- is 110W,
ilf' Jeanne lVTorcnu's Face ill
you nm't do JIl !\ \Von/all is
1.1/
1Il
is the voice or an
with the modern cinema, cXDericllcilH' its first real Howcrim>: tbe cx-
CIlld Jilll, the SCCplCI1Ce "I het
(i ,mel,
composed
variuils modern lilms IS
anunymolls COIIl
lIlcntator, much less the inc<Imatioll of the mlll101' than of 1l,IITCItivit y
:1S /\lhcrt, Laffay observed in another Clmtext
3H
occasionally il
is that 01' thc film's Ilrot:Hlonisl llcldressilw hilllself llirectlv !o the
dicllcc--a new form of aside: lkb Iluudo's voice in Vierwt Ie fou, the
lirst seq llCllce ill l\1uriCllvad, To these I wo olle Illllst add the
on-screen voicc ill dialo!211cd sccncs :llld the I'retl LlClit LIse of writtcn
titles ,mel also the (lIl-StTeCIl
voice itself when it assullJcs the rccitative mode and acquires a
that pulls il away hom the illiage ,md trunsforllls it from
within into;1 kind of oIl' screen voice, thus 10 some cxlcnl suhtract
rrml1 the (/lirosliilll(J IlJOIIIllIIO'Uf, La Poll/Ie ('ourle, etc.),
TilLIS til(' lilm is ahlc to pLly Oil five levels of
ranges, live "personac," One could wrile a whole study of
in a Codard or Hcsn;lis lilm Oil the problclll of "Who is
Ami onc could write ,mother study Ull the revitalizatioll of what lISed
to he ca11(;<1 "suhicClivc irll;wcs"' in Fellini Juliet of tile
'[1lJ
"SYNTAX" IS NO'!" S'llcHEOTYl'E: Thus "syntax," still as Funrly
named as ever, is nevertheless alive and well. But many mislIl1dcr
derive hom the fllct that is often confused with
cliche), An ori2inal 111m is cOll1lllonl\' urcsllmed to
" Fil", liS 1957, p, 131.
TliE MODERN CINEl\ll\ AND NAHrl,\TlYllY :>.:>. I
gralllma r upSide down": ci !lema tu
grdlllllI<ir is eH:'dited only with mediocre films, That is 10 con-
ruse the l:lIlgUilgC process with the aesthetic stylistic) process, Bc'
tween <1r( and l'lllgu'lgC there me COll1plex scmiulogicnl Ic1<,li(ll1sh
art is nol act\lilliv I:lllguagc; it in OJle \Vil \ (lr illllltilcr "c
the ()r 7!Csitie it, and tbat is whv dolts lIOt
llbert tlll'nc:d
illscrilwd
II] tilt' j"rcnClI lilliguagv, r)llt UIC IIIl[lcrtcct W,lS (:Int! stili ami lill
is ill IHJ \Va, dilkrcilt 1'1'(1111 the
is the OJ](' syntactici,lIls ,m,d It i" ,I
SillliLIr\V, the llSC (II'
])()"cl'cr lloVel and intcrc;.t s(JllIe of
llCI'l'lt]W!cSS slili iTDITSCIl[S a hanal livlIrc SlIllT It lIILiIlCl'S LIS
10 reCollstrllct
hip,Htilioll of till' screen space,
must not rcal/)'
COlli lied
{illll-maker's artistic l'Jl(kanlr, sincc he now stalL's that the first (limic
cudiflcatioll is slylistic, i1ll1s overlapping Oil my OWll VIlW that it is the
striVing for conllotatioll thal in the cinema has ultillwll'Iy
till' enrichmcnt awl codifying ur dellotation; and 011 the [Jlher
ized image of the wheels or a train
the lIIisLlllderstnnding surfaces ag<lln whell Pasulini
;1Il
gives l1S all
conventions," I-Ie ci tes the common, COil ITIl"
;11' full
a cloud of sllloke, This is ]lot, he says, a grmll111aLical
a "stylcme." J don't argue with this, But such
Ilothing to do with "cinelllatoQranhic svnlax," For the latter illmlies
,('I us return to Pasolini, I-Ie hclievcs
Illar" has nol hecll ahlc
gmllllllar," tlwt is tl) say
It is never, he sa\,s,;li
urDl rcaJ gmnllnar, bllt r,lthcr
SYSICIlI hetwcell ,1I'l ;Inc!
CUl1lTlltiullS tbat han' till' "pcculiarit\' or
grallllllaticu I." 'I'his <lIl,Ilysis, which
unllll
,":>
C<lI1
;1l'l'Cpt, ca lIs for t 1\10 remarks:
believe ill the
shuws tklt Pasolinl hililscif
of allli ,I
cinclll:llograpbic stratulll o[ prior to tile
222 THE "MODERN" CINE:\IA: SOl\JE THEORETICAL PROBLEI\IS
a certaill numbcr of filmic constructiOlls and not just a certnin num
ber of fil1lled objects. The image of the wheels of the trnin refers
neither to some "by-passing of syntax," nor, on the other hand, to
some fixed, com'cntionalized synt;lctic expression; it constitutes a fact
that is foreign to syntax, a specific vismd element-having its own
"form" ,mel its own "content"-liable tu being ftlmed.
Any properlv filmic syntagmatic Llct implies the conjunction of at
two visual c1elllents, ()ccllrring ill twu im;lges (lllont8ge) or in
the S,lme image (camera muvelllent or, even, st;ltic implication). To
say that the illlage 01' the wheels of the tr;lin is a fact uf stylc is cor
rect but insullicient; it is a c1ich(\ a stereotype. And it Gin he so only
because it is ;1 ,ingular bct. Crammar h;ls never dictated the content
of thought that cach sentcncc should have; it mcrel) rcgu Lltcs thc
[!cl1er,ll un!alJilati()n of the sentences. !l UmllzlIll1tic([1 faci CIlII he
0
neither (.{cliche 1101' ([ IIUVelty, unless it is so at the mOlllcnt of its first
historic;11 occurrence; it exists beyond the level where the ;llltithesis
clichl"/n(,\elLy even begins to have a mC<ll1ing-that i, to SCI\" it re
mains COil lined to the st;lge of the initial idiolll and not to t1wt or the
secondarv language or art. The present or the imlicltin', as used hy
HohheCrillct, is still :1 vulgar of tbe indicative, entirely "ba
n:d," :Jnd vet Jl() olle :](,(,U5(,S it of l)('ing ;1 clich{'. And llO one ,ICClises
Malherhc III' ror using the ohjective prcdiclte, or Victor
Hugo ror lIsillg the reLlti\'C clause, or Baudelaire ror the conjullc
tion o{' two ;ldjcctivc,. The image of tbe whcels or the train is in IllJ
way the Iilmic equiv;llcnt to these examples; mthl'l' it would corre
sp()nd til iVblhcrbe\ 1l1et,lphorical comparison or ;1 voung girl tu a
rose, which is a silli_'.I1/or eOllstructi()n (formal and and
must accordingly he judged ;lCcurding t() the Gltcgorie, of originality
and tritcncss. j\s long ;lS one consider, such examples, one will have
the clements not of a "stylistic grammar" of the cinema, hut ()r ;1 jiure
r71ctoric tbat has nothing grammatical, ;lllel not very much cinelllato
gr<lphie, about it, for the image of the wheels 01' the train (zl1ld similar
images) most commonly represent cultural stereotypes, which if they
;He picked up-or even partially varied-by the cinema me picked up
and varied by other forms of expression as well. There is a grammar of
THE J\IODEJ1N CINEMA AND NAHHATlVlTV 223
the cinem;l (or, to be eX;lct, there is a large syntagmatic categorv of the
liction lilm); but its location lies elsewhere: In the scene, in the se
quence, ill the different syntagmas, in the other "types" ] have men
tioned oilly too briefly, in the structured, signiFying, <lI1d stahililed
wntagmatic orderings, which arc never clicht's, ;md were nm'clties
unly once, but which nwke up tbe scattered and disconnected cle
ments of a code of lilmic intelligihility ("analogy" ;ll1d dialogue COIl
stituting the rest), the st,llllillcring eljuinlent of a real syntax, :lIld
not of;l list of singular cuntents or forms.
Cinematugr:lphic grammar docs not consist in pn',cribing ",hat
should he lilllled. Alternate lllonl<lge, For exmnplc, simph dcterillinc,
that the altern:lting of ill1;lges ",ill the simultaneitv or the ('or
re,pollding referents, hut it says Ilothing ahout what is to enter those
illlages. TIl(' distinctioll hetween a lllcch;lllic,ll and stcre(}tYjwd
lll<ll''' ;md;l Free, ;lgralllllwticil miginalit\ -;] distincti()n that seeills t()
underlie S,) lll:lIn discu'5ions or the lllod('fTJ cilll'nl;l- -is profoundly
llll('sti()J]'lblc.h)J- a grallllllar, since hv dcJlnitioll it is composed (illl)'
uF stereotypes, cannot he stercotyped, and a certain free creative origi
n:llity is necessarily "gr;llllm;ltical" in one respect Of another From the
lllOlllent its llle"age hecOIlles intelligible.'"
" I wallt to avoid a confusion that cn>]'s up fre(ll,cntly ill this type "I' dis
ell"ioll. The analysis (lcveloped in tl,is section is Hut in ;my way intcnded to
<Iistinguisl, ],etwccn "form" ill liln" (which would bc a general categu,.v. be
yond \1", subdilisions of the original and thc banal\ "colltent'; (;vhich
:::()uld he on the original or, lwnal).
1 he d"tlllctHln between Imlll ('Dntent IllUSt be abs()lutcl v rejected, I
believe; the ullly solutioll Ihat seellls satis[aetorv to me is the one advanced hv
the linguist Lm:is Iljellnslcv, which places the facls uf Ihe _sigllificale (content')
to one side. ,mel the {acls uf I he sigllifier (which is erroneously considered to he
the constituent or "form" and which, ill I-Ijelmslcvian tcrminulugy, constitutl"
((expression") to lhe other side, \Nilh <:8ch 1111'11lbcr possessing its o\vn fortn
nnd substance. (For the possible application of these cOllcepts to cinemato
graphic ,malysis, see Chapter 8 of this \'olume.) The purpme of this discussion
\\'(1S to Lctnrccn cUllstructiuns :..pecitic fa CillCJJlniograpl1ic 11111guoge ill
gel/em1 and comtructions that occur in particular hlms. Both have their signi
ficr and their significatc (which is to say, in ordinary bnguagc, thcir "form"
and their "content")' and these signillers and significates each have their own
form and their own suhstance (form, in this casc, is taken in the sense that
secms to me to bc the correct one). In other words, I want to insist on the
presence of a specific level of "figures" that by (lcfinition, relatc to thc hlmic
\'chicle itself-and thcsc arc thc hgurcs that actually dehne "cincmatographic
224 THE CINE;\! A: SOI\[E rr.OBT EJ\l!'.
certain linguists h8ve turned thcir <lltenti<lll tu the proh
lel1l "f "purek sClllantic" ,mom,1lies (sentences that appem to be
grmllll1atic,dly correct, hut whose n1css,lge doesn't "COJllC thrnllgh"),
['idmple: "'l'he natali:111 hr,1ssie]'l' wol;l' Ujl SLlddl'llly :1 too :1p
Il,nclld,T p()stpr:1J]clial rictus," But, in G1SeS lil;e this, it is OllCe' ll1ure
frolll the misundcrst,llIcling of cerL1in structur,d 'C'luircments oj'
;Illd I() it i'roln an()ther sCllli()logiL'<I\ level, \\'hich is, jnci
dcntdllv, ,lulI/,I], ullltr;lSted t() the first ill th"t it is h;,th les" (since it
C()lll'l'n'l:-' fllllls 'j and /llOrc p,cllcnd (since it illC()fl)()r;ltcs SYStClilS
arl' I'cry Lwadly cllltliral and l!,elt e"tend bevund thc cinema ibeln, ()ll this
sl'c(Jlld lcvcl ()nc GIll SPL")l.. Dr the Ii()riginaiity" Of of individu:tl fl1nlo..;
("r {tim l'ClsSaul:S, <>,. jJlm "JUtcULs," etc,') 'lCc()rding (" whether the cultural
hare l':C'C11 integrated dIe), arc illt() tlH' 'lilIn (i.e., (If
",hl'lhcr Oil till' ('untcarl' the has rejected illC'lll, dispbcl"! Ihelll,
"I';d;ed" thclIl, 'T\ iLdi/.e,l tlll'Ill, etc.
l\ll'vcrtllekss it is true Ihal "cillc,lEltovral,lric Lliwllagc" itsl'li' is liable to be
jUdgl'cJ ill ,)1' origillality (Jf l);Jllalit); 'fhis 'friJIll ("('rUin or its
aLlcristics I hal, ,drc:ldy Illl'llli'''lcci: lt dues ll"t really cunstitutc :1 bnguagc
"YStC'1I1; it 1;.. Il(Jt a pure but ;111 In<iisl'crllildc Illi\turt' ()r ,!2,rllllllll:ll
Clm! rhl'luri,': jt i
e
; 111<)]'( ild!uellced hv till' illciiviciu,d l'1l':ltiuIlS "j'
maLers th:"l w,ittl'll verb:d 1:1I;gllagcs :lie by 'the iIHlivid,,:d crcatiuns "r writl'l's,
j\ true vcrb:ll ()r Frcllcl;--jc.; LH'\'Cr ill ibcll' \lr 1>'lna1
(ur, i[' jt is, it i" sr, ill a u,mp1ctely dilJ'crent way :m,] Olle that is r"reign t" t11is
as whcll (Inc ullllparcs (lllt' vl'rl)'I1 l:lllgu<lgc to uthcr vcrlnl ]angu:lgc.:;'j,
III th,' dOIl,,,ill ,,1' tile cinema, un dl(,' c()utrary, it is ]1)ucL easier to find w'mb
th(l[ Cdll 1)(' l'h;lr:ll'tcri:;,('(] ,\.<.., l)('illg 11l(l!(' ()r (Irigilla1 Oil 1/1(' /e(,('1 0/ dIe 11111
il,cl) 'lLul 11t Pllh pn thc lell'! ,,[' Iheir stvlc (examl,k: the "P"iClltjcll
'('''ILiellec'' ill COllard\ film all<ll) /,ed earlier'" IF 'Jill' uscs 1\ ol:t IH1
Dartlws\ triple lJd\\'('cll Idll,0,IIC, ('crillfrc,
SVStl'lll. '\vritillg," ill ',C /)cg,ft) :'i..:r() (Ic !'l;cril/lrc
7cru), ULlC wi]] llotice thJt IicillCIlWl\)graphi{' langllJge" resclllhlcs
ill"St ill Ihat it r('I"TsC'Llh a distillCI illslancl' ut' individual ,tyles, hut that it
hO\\'C\lT, Il(lt {'(Infused \\'itl1 (I bllgU(lgC (llc\'crthck;-..s therc rCllldins a t..1iJ"
fercllcc betll'een the eincllla am1 til(' dUllwin "r the 1'l'L'h"l: III the btter, '\\Til
ing" is distillct fCOlli langlLage) \vhicl! exists: in tllL' einclna! it is JistillL'l [rUll}
what might lie called a IaUgUClgC, if that language l'"isted, It is precisL'1y the
(d' t/)(' cinCllla tlwt \\'llat jt ,IS bllgU'lgC is.. in filet) ..1 '\vril
illg,"-tl](lt tt) sOlllcrhillg that Ilut a hut is less rddicalh
T
distjnct
fnHll a style thall a is.
lJcsp-itl' Olle still be canti()ll.<.." \<\lhell speaking uf "origi
nality" or ''twllality'' in the cinema, not tl) h:lIld1c the,e (""nec]'ts ill the sOJJle
WH)" ()r on the sanlC lc\'cl, acc{)rding to vvhether onc js c()nsjderillg individllal
Elms, <>r llH,](' "r less original aspeets ,,[ the general hlllguage of lilllls, Thus, ,1
libn that I\'(wld borrow only what W:1S m()st IJallal from cinematographic
language coulclnevertheless be an original wurk, whel'eas a Ii!m in which all the
particular construetiollS would be banal w(>uld necC'ssarilv be a banal work,
THE J\IODERN CINEi\JA AND NAnr.ATIvITY 225
course that the unintelligibility of the message derives, It is nOl, to bc
sure, a matter of the grl71l1lJllltic((/ strllcturc itself' (at le,lst in the usual
meaning of the term), but of' the SClJll7ll1ic structurcs (that is to say,
again grmmnatic81, in some way) of the French [or ill the
case of this translation, of the English langL18ge-THANsLATon] (i\. J.
Greimas)-or then, depending on the lingllistic schuol, it is ,1 qlll'S
tion of certain actllally gramlllatiG11 "subrulcs" (Je;l1l Duhois) that
:11'(' sui1ieienti v Jine to be generally omitted from "oHicial" gramm:1rS,
hllt the ign(ll'<mcc of' which results in sentences posscssing Farious de
of agrallllllilticislll (Noall1 Chomskvl, Thl1s the verb "to \\,:1 lee
up" is scm,mticall\' L'()]np,1tihlc within the same minimulll statcment
onlv with ,111 animate subjcet or OllC l11cl<ll)horically :lssimibtcd tu :1Il
:lllimate subject ('Thc dog wakes up," "Hojle W:1S ':l\v:1tcncd"'i; it
cuuld l10t ll:lvC For subject the term for a llonpers()nified itl'nl or
clothing (hrassierc in lilY cX'll11plc). The adjel'livC' J'{)st},rt711diu/ is
used onlv with sllhstanti\'es helonging to tll(' c:ltcg0l'\' of coclH'still'sis
(sensations of f!lUIICSS, helwillcss, acidity, slcc},illcss, ('lL',) :md C()llse
lll1cntly excillcies (exccpt in :1 specdly il1diC:1tin' contcxt) a subst:ll1
tin: like rictus, Utc, Now, rcmemhcr tll:lt "cinem:1togr:1phic gralllm:H"
is not a "re:1l grmnm:1r" in the llsllal scnsc of the word, hut simplv :1
budv of p:nti:tlly codified scm:llltic implications (.or rinc gr:lllllll:lticd
llllcs ).
One of the lllost striking ch:lr:1ctcristics of modcrn Jl1ms is that they
me in lllost cases highly umlcrsl<111cbble: 111 this respect they (liffer
from vmiolls cxperimcnt,ll films, with their ,lvaLmchc of gratllitous
and :marchic images against a hackgrollnd oj' heterogcncous
siolls, capped by some ovcrblown :want-gmdist texl, On t'he contrary,
thc "cmancipated" storics that the best modern Jllms me occasionally
able to tell liS Jiml, in order to make themselves llndcrstood, ven' di
rect paths, and they mobilize a sllflicicllt lIumber of true ,1ceents, of
memories peculim vet eommoll to everyone (and becomc so m:lll)'
analogical systcms in the intellection 01' the Jilm) for evell the slightly
experienced Spcct<1tor to underst,lnd them more rapidly th8n hc would
understand the conventional narr:ltives 01' commercial production,
whose advertised-and very real-conFormism does not cxclude (but
226 THE C1NEi\lA: SOi\lF TllEOHETlCAL l'nOI3LEMS
JIll
illl tha I arc never
they differ too mueh From
To contrast gralllma alld is, thcrcFurc, to eontmuimltc
lwo On the one hand there arc, in the CinellE],
anel others tll;]t arc less so. Oil the other hand
there is "Cilll'I11;ltogr;q)ilie gmllllllar," with the mnbigw)lJs status of its
COllllot;ltioll that h,ls hccollll' a means of denutatiun, a thM
has hecolllc ;] \Thicle';l status that is urccisclv rcsIJol1siblc for the
con fusion I have been
For it i, indl'cd trUl' t1wt the com-
Illunicatioll of the literal
One
sh()t
lwriz()ntal and fWlltal, ",ith no calll
era IllOVClllt'llt at ;]11, and no optic:d d!\:ct (,dissolvl', ctc.), with Ill)
tempor:,1 ellipsis, no lighting othl'l thall Ollc that would be lllliful'Jlll"
lIat, ,111d 1I() voices Iwsidcs thosc that would he strictly dicgetic
scrccn voices), l'te. But sllch a lilm w()uld h,lrdlv the cineJlla
wunld he llHlf(' lih- ,] all
recorded hv the ('<lIlll'fa. Eycn
Bouch's (;urc dll Nord \\.'oldd
like
tfllClllcllt
inc.IJ Olle at
is that ;\ film
IllltiU/is 111
Fact is that even dlC most "colorless" prose, ;l zerodegrce
.' if :,llch a tlling still ret,]ill the codc of its
'.whosc fUllction ill the cillema is guarantecd by perccptual
<IlHllogy tll<lt allows OllC if neccssary to economize on ,my
like ('1l(liIic;ltion}. Hovvcver, semiological description must address it
self to the rc,ll cinema, llot to an imaginary cinema. Now, /he
II1OI1Jellt tllnt the cinewa encounter whose
eonse(lucnces eire, if not inEnite, at least not appears
it has sUDcrilllDosed over tbe message a second conmlex of
TIlE MODERN CINEt>IA AND NAHHATIVITY 227
the image, something tlwt
has to GrifIlth, mainly), <llld
though it was originally intcnded to render the story more living
(to Hvoid a monotonous, continuous iconic Bow, ill shurt, to connutc),
has nevertheless cnded bv multiplyillg thc modes of denotation, and
thus articn/ntillg the ll]Ust litc[<llllll'ssagc of the films we know.
v
of the and richllcsS of the ll1od
ern and mOIl' unalyzL'll; OJlC
dct;]il than I have done tlWl all thcse llCW
arc made ill n:hitioll to thl' diegcsis, and th:lt lhc llCW cill
CilIa, I'm from lwving ,]h:ll1dollCd the ll[lrrntiv(', gives llS Jl,llT<llivcs
thilt ,11'(' more diversilied, 1llore r:llllificd, ,mel more
havc the spacc herl' (I) bring this analysis, which I hm'c
gUll, 10 its proper cOllclusioJ1.
how strfllHiC it is to hear
the "breakdown 01 dlC narrative" lit a timc whcn
;] new of cinematographic narrators has COllle t(J the
whell vve have heen ,lblc to see [lJIllS like 11 Grido, l.'APIJCII/ltf(l,
111011 11IJ10 It r, lH11 riel, Julcs ami Jilll; at a lime whcn it ;]p
pears that the autlHJI' or B;ca/hlcss and Pierro/ Ie folt'! is only begin-
Ilis career, and though this jihnmaker docs not ;,ppcal til cvery
unc, he lws 111l1llagcd nevertheless til impose himself (lJl the
attention, amI it secms dillicult 110! to ill him a richness of
inventioll and a power to devclop and change, in which it is
thnt lIot everyone can the L1l<lL ils forms have
bcen spccific lemUCf that characterizes the IJteat tdlers
of tales,
"The films mentioned in this text have heen chosen among those that
had already heen produced and distributed ill the of 1966, when
this article was written,