The main purpose of 'Screen Writings' is to stake out territory for a certain type of film critic, somewhere between a reviewer-journalist and a scholar-theorist. At a time when the movie review has degenerated into mere publicity for Hollywood pictures, while film scholarship has become entangled in its own pseudo-scientific discourse, the author offers close readings of individual films that go beyond simple plot summaries and vague impressions about acting, yet refrain from hermetic theoretical pronouncements. With elegance, clarity, and rigor, the author explains how moviemakers use the resources of the medium to pursue complex, significant humanistic goals. Thus, in addition to chronicling the vitality and richness of international film art, ‘Screen Writings’ also aims to facilitate its understanding and appreciation.
The reviews and re-viewings contained in ‘Screen Writings’ are acts of analysis and interpretation in the humanistic sense - they are neither theoretical musings nor pedantic tracts. As such, this book can be considered a call for the return of practical criticism as the best way to understand and appreciate the work of cinematic artists, including directors from a countries across the world. Contemporary films like ‘Brokeback Mountain’ and ‘Lost in Translation’ are treated, as well as classics like ‘Tokyo Story’, ‘Forbidden Games’, and ‘Some Like It Hot’. These review-essays are supplemented by a previously unpublished interview with LuchinoVisconti and a investigation of the new screen violence, as well as by a bibliography of related criticism, directors' filmographies, individual film credits, and a thorough index.
