The European 'art cinema' as a genre

Thèmes abordés

Bordwell, Truffaut, Godard, de Sica, cinéma européen d'après-guerre, Les 400 Coups, Le voleur de bicyclette, cinéma de papa, tradition de la qualité

Résumé du document

Cette dissertation de niveau Licence 3 a pour but de montrer en quoi le cinéma d'art européen est un courant cohérent qui se distingue par certains traits communs. Il est notamment caractérisé, ce qui le distingue d'autres genres de cinéma, par le principe de réalisme et fait du cinéaste, autrement dit le réalisateur, la pierre angulaire de la production des films. Cette dissertation se concentre sur deux courants majeurs du cinéma européen d'après guerre, le néo-réalisme italien et la Nouvelle vague française.

Extraits

[...] More largely, it may be argued that European 'art cinema' crucially rests on the two concepts of authorship and realism. This notion of realism is critical concerning European 'art cinema' because it determines three aspects of films: thematic paths, narrative principles and stylistic conventions. Hence, the purpose of this essay is to 1/5 outline in what extent the European art films are linked up together by these two notions, resulting on the formation of a specific cinematographic genre. It can be argued that European 'art cinema' is characterized by realism insofar as its objective is to show the people's everyday life as well as underline what problems face individuals in society. [...]

[...] All in all, the film speaks about poverty and unemployment in postwar Italy. Claiming his right to work, Antonio expresses the inadequacy of the capitalist system to provide prosperity to working classes. More precisely, Carlo Cielli suggests that The Bicycle Thief can be interpreted as a criticism of liberal policies of the postwar Italian government, formed by Christian-Democrats. They, indeed, took the path to refuse to entirely allocate Marshall Fund for public infrastructure, adhering, rather, to an anti-inflationary money policy (Celli: 2004). [...]

[...] The young main character, Antoine Doinel, is successively confronted with the school, his family, the police and, then, the Delinquent Minor Centre. These social structures are viewed as means of coercion, oppression, and control over Antoine Doinel, referring to Michel Foucault's sociological researches. Viewing the family as a straitjacket, a place of alienation, the Truffaut's approach contrasts deeply with that of De Sica. He, indeed, shows this fundamental social institution as the most viable structure, which is constantly supports Antonio in is 'quest'. [...]

[...] To conclude, I believe that we can define European 'art cinema' as coherent genre since it is base upon two leading principles, authorship and realism, the latter resulting on thematic, narrative and stylistic traits which strongly differ from the American as well as European commercial and popular cinema. However, this deep boundary between these two kinds of cinema is not entirely impenetrable. Both types of cinema enrich mutually. As we have seen, substantial elements of European 'art cinema' rely on the 'classical' cinema while the 'art cinema' is a source of inspiration for the 'classical', sweepingly affecting it. [...]

[...] Indeed, this film shows a couple, formed by Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina, who rejects the society by stealing, killing and refusing to find a job. Thus, European 'art cinema' strives to point out the problems whose society faces. It must be, indeed, pointed out that Italian Neorealism, which was born in the immediate postwar, is perhaps the paramount of the realistic European postwar 'art cinema'. The Ladri di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thieves, 1948), released by Vittorio De Sica, illustrates relevantly this idea. [...]