Senses of Cinema. 46.

"When, in the light of a potential 50th anniversary tribute to the French New Wave, Sally Shafto proposed that we consider looking back at the movement, not from the perspective of a Jacques Rivette or Jean-Luc Godard, but rather through a focus on one of their collaborators, Charles Bitsch, we did not exactly ask, 'Charles who?'," write editors Rolando Caputo and Scott Murray, introducing the new issue of Senses of Cinema. "His name was, of course, familiar to us. First, as a contributor to Cahiers du Cinéma in the 1950s and, second, for his sustained association with Godard throughout the 60s. However, we were surprised at how much more was to be revealed."

Shafto introduces the "Focus" on Bitsch, which includes her 1998 interview and a filmography and list of relevant publications; an appreciation by Luc Moullet; and an interview with Orson Welles conducted by Bitsch and André Bazin for Cahiers in 1958.

Also in this issue is a "Spotlight" on Nina Menkes, "the woman warrior in Chinese martial-arts cinema," as Bérénice Reynaud describes her; David E James interviewed her last summer.

"If there were no more to [M Night] Shyamalan's career than its spectacular early trajectory and its remarkable economic impact, analysis of the films themselves might be beside the point," writes Lesley Brill. "But M Night Shyamalan has established himself not just as a manufacturer of abundant revenues, but also as an auteurist writer-director-producer with high artistic and what one might call spiritual ambitions, and, after seven released films, with consistent thematic and stylistic preoccupations.... As he enters early mid-career, then, a preliminary report on his work to date seems worth undertaking."

"There are some films that could only be made by a certain director, at a certain point in time," writes Linda Ehrlich. "Here is an account of three such films, and of a journey to Spain in October to encounter first-hand examples of a contemporary alternative cinema."

Wheeler Winston Dixon on Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne: "[T]his unique collaboration between Cocteau and Bresson would be a one-off in every sense of the term."

"So what does I'm Not There contribute to our understanding of Dylan?" asks Adrian Danks. "Does it actually present anything new? Not surprisingly, the answer to this second question is both 'yes' and 'no.'"

"Themes such as the punk movement, homelessness and substance abuse would come to perpetually infect his documentaries, with films like Rock Soup (1991), Gringo (1985), the monumental Sex Pistols documentary DOA (1981) and Born To Lose: The Last Great Rock and Roll Movie (1999), about musician Johnny Thunders." Jennifer Jones: "I interviewed Lech Kowalski in Paris at the Café de la Musique in May 2007."

"Here in Melbourne, [Dirk] de Bruyn has established a profile as a promoter, curator and theorist of experimental film (readers of Senses of Cinema should recognise him as a regular contributor), yet his own creative practice has received very little acknowledgement or critical attention over the years in spite of its apparent scale and consistency," writes Steven McIntyre. "[R]ather than provide a close-reading of individual films as part of a 'body of film work,' I want to try to define and draw out the broader aesthetic and theoretical lineaments of [his] performance-events, and suggest ways in which they intersect with, and perhaps extend, the thinking and theorization of this not only peripheral but notoriously elusive practice."

"Boxing Day is an important film in the landscape of recent Australian cinema," argues Alex Munt, who analyses various threads leading to Kriv Stenders's "micro-budget digital feature."

"Melbourne-based, independent filmmaker Bill Mousoulis's latest offering, A Nocturne (2007), is an intriguing reworking of the vampire genre," writes Fiona Villella. "As in previous Mousoulis films, A Nocturne sets up an opposition between commerce and art; mainstream and alternative space; the ruthlessness of capitalist society and the humanity of the artist."

Reviewing the DVD release of Romulus, My Father, Fincina Hopgood focuses on theater director turned filmmaker Richard Roxburgh's frustrations with the compromises he felt obligated to accept when making his first feature.

Then there are 11 festival reports, six book reviews, 14 annotations on films (with special emphasis placed on Roman Polanski) and one new name added to the Great Directors critical database: Charles Chaplin. James L Neibaur does the honors.

Posted by dwhudson at March 15, 2008 9:35 PM