Rites of Realism

Rites of Realism rethinks cinematic realism, shifting discussion away from the usual focus on the faithfulness of record or the illusory effects of verisimilitude towards a notion of "performative realism," a realism that does not simply represent a given reality but enacts actual social tensions. These essays by a range of film theorists propose stimulating new approaches to the critical evaluation of modern realist films and such referential genres as reenactment, historical film, adaptation, portrait films, documentary, and realist depictions of urban life. By providing close readings of classic and contemporary works, Rites of Realism signals the need to return to a focus on films as the main provocateurs and innovators of realist representation. Inspired by the pioneering thought of Andre Bazin, the book features two new translations: of Bazin's 1958 essay "Death Every Afternoon," examining the filming of a bullfight and of Serge Daney's essay reinterpreting imagery invoked by Bazin. These pieces evince key concerns-particularly the link between cinematic realism and representations of the body-that the other essays explore further. Among the topics addressed are the provocative mimesis of Luis Bunuel's Land Without Bread; the adaptation of trial documents in Carl Dreyer's Passion of Joan of Arc; the use of the tableaux vivant by Wim Wenders and Peter Greenaway; the way Pasolini transposed The Gospel According to Matthew from Palestine to southern Italy; and the variables in urban representation in contemporary Chinese cinema. Contributors also look at the resistance to visibility posed by images of possession in Maya Deren's work and the historical contingencies of identity representation in avant-garde and documentary films of the 1960s, as well as the social geography presented in Mike Leigh's oeuvre and the exemplary dimension of reenactment in films by Antonioni, Cesare Zavattini, Zhang Yuan, and Abbas Kiarostami. Rites of Realism will appeal not only to cinema studies specialists but also to those interested in performance theory and art history. Contributors: Paul Arthur, Andre Bazin, Mark A. Cohen, Serge Daney, Mary Ann Doane, James Lastra, Ivone Margulies, Abe Mark Normes, Brigitte Peucker, Richard Porton, Philip Rosen, Catherine Russell, James Schamus, Noa Steimatsky, and Xiaobing Tang.