Christopher Pavsek
The Utopia of Film: Cinema and Its Futures in Godard, Kluge, and Tahimik.
Columbia University Press, 2013. Film & Culture. 9780231160995 xiv/286 pages.
Softcover volume, measuring approximately 6.25" x 9.25", is new.
"The German filmmaker Alexander Kluge has long promoted cinema's relationship with the goals of human emancipation. Jean-Luc Godard and Filipino director Kidlat Tahimik also believe in cinema's ability to bring about what Theodor W. Adorno once called a "redeemed world." Situating the films of Godard, Tahimik, and Kluge within debates over social revolution, utopian ideals, and the unrealized potential of utopian thought and action, Christopher Pavsek showcases the strengths, weaknesses, and undeniable impact of their utopian visions on film's political evolution. He discusses Godard's "Alphaville" (1965) against "Germany Year 90 Nine-Zero" (1991) and "JLG/JLG: Self-portrait in December" (1994), and he conducts the first scholarly reading of "Film Socialisme" (2010). He considers Tahimik's virtually unknown masterpiece, "I Am Furious Yellow" (1981–1991), along with "Perfumed Nightmare" (1977) and "Turumba" (1983); and he constructs a dialogue between Kluge's "Brutality in Stone" (1961) and "Yesterday Girl" (1965) and his later "The Assault of the Present on the Rest of Time" (1985) and "Fruits of Trust" (2009)."