European Cinema in the Twenty-First Century : Discourses, Directions and Genres

This book rethinks the study of European Cinema in a way that centres on students and their needs, in a comprehensive volume introducing undergraduates to the main discourses, directions and genres of twenty-first-century European film. Importantly, this collection is the first of its kind to apply a transversal approach to European Cinema, bringing together the East and the West, while providing a broad picture of key trends, aesthetics, genres, national identities, and transnational concerns. Lewis and Canning’s collection effectively addresses some of the most pressing questions in contemporary European film, such as ecology, migration, industry, identity, disability, memory, auteurship, genre, small cinemas, and the national and international frameworks which underpin them. Combining accessible original research with a thorough grounding in recent histories and contexts, each chapter includes key definitions, reflective group questions, and a summative case study. Overall, this book makes a strong contribution to our understanding of recent European Cinema, making it an invaluable resource for lecturers and students across a variety of film-centred modules. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxi Introduction: The Identity of European Cinema (Ingrid Lewis, Laura Canning)....Pages 1-11 Front Matter ....Pages 13-13 Documenting Difference: Migration and Identity in European Documentaries (Adam Vaughan)....Pages 15-32 Scotland’s Onscreen Identities: Otherness and Hybridity in Scottish Cinema (Emily Torricelli)....Pages 33-49 Questioning the ‘Normality Drama’: The Representation of Disability in Contemporary European Films (Eleanor Andrews)....Pages 51-68 Ecocritical Perspectives on Nordic Cinema: From Nature Appreciation to Social Conformism (Pietari Kääpä)....Pages 69-86 The Trauma of (Post)Memory: Women’s Memories in Holocaust Cinema (Ingrid Lewis)....Pages 87-108 An Ordinary Warrior and His Inevitable Defeat: Representation in Post-Yugoslav Cinema (Dino Murtic)....Pages 109-125 Front Matter ....Pages 127-127 The New/Old Patriarchal Auteurism: Manoel de Oliveira, the Male Gaze and Women’s Representation (Ingrid Lewis, Irena Sever Globan)....Pages 129-147 The Latest European New Wave: Cinematic Realism and Everyday Aesthetics in Romanian Cinema (Doru Pop)....Pages 149-166 Between Transnational and Local in European Cinema: Regional Resemblances in Hungarian and Romanian Films (Andrea Virginás)....Pages 167-185 Crossing Borders: Investigating the International Appeal of European Films (Huw D. Jones)....Pages 187-205 Technology, Decentralisation and the Periphery of European Filmmaking: Greece and Scandinavia in Focus (Olga Kolokytha)....Pages 207-225 Brooklyn and the Other Side of the Ocean: The International and Transnational in Irish Cinema (Maria O’Brien, Laura Canning)....Pages 227-245 Front Matter ....Pages 247-247 On the Eve of the Journey: The New European Road Movie (Laura Rascaroli)....Pages 249-262 German Film Comedy in the ‘Berlin Republic’: Wildly Successful and a Lot Funnier than You Think (Jill E. Twark)....Pages 263-279 On the Ambiguous Charm of Film Noir: Elle and the New Type of Woman (Begoña Gutiérrez-Martínez, Josep Pedro)....Pages 281-298 Dystopia Redux: Science Fiction Cinema and Biopolitics (Mariano Paz)....Pages 299-315 Spanish Horror Film: Genre, Television and a New Model of Production (Vicente Rodríguez Ortega, Rubén Romero Santos)....Pages 317-333 Back Matter ....Pages 335-343 "This book articulates a way of rethinking the study of European cinema that centres on students and their needs, in an accessible and comprehensive monograph introducing film students to the main discourses, directions and genres of twenty-first century European Cinema. Importantly, this collection is the first of its kind to apply a transversal approach to European cinema, bringing together the East and the West, while providing a broad picture of key trends, aesthetics, genres, national identities, and transnational concerns. Lewis and Cannings collection effectively addresses some of the most pressing questions in contemporary European Cinema, such as ecology, migration, industry, identity, disability, memory, auteurship, genre, small cinemas, and the national and international contexts which underpin them. This book makes a strong contribution to our understanding of recent European Cinema, while providing an invaluable resource for lecturers and students across a variety of film-centred modules."-- Back cover