ReFocus: The Films of Michel Gondry
Published on 31. May 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-4744-5602-9 (ISBN)
Description
The acclaimed French auteur behind the mind-bending modern classic Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Michel Gondry has directed a number of innovative, ground-breaking films and documentaries, episodes of the acclaimed television show Kidding and some of the most influential music videos in the history of the medium. In this collection, a range of international scholars offers a comprehensive study of this significant and influential figure, covering his French and English-language films and videos, and framing Gondry as a transnational auteur whose work provides insight into both French/European and American cinematic and cultural identity. With detailed case studies of films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), The Science of Sleep (2006), Microbe & Gasoline (2015) and Mood Indigo (2013), this collection will appeal to readers interested in the various media in which Gondry has worked, and in contemporary post-modern French and American cinema in general.
Reviews / Votes
This remarkable collection of articles focusses on one of the most prominent and internationally renowned French directors seen through the lens of academics and researchers. A must-read for filmgoers as well as researchers who want to discover or rediscover Michel Gondry's inventive and very distinctive visual style as well as the mesmerizing universe he creates. -- Dr Michael Abecassis, University of OxfordMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
7 black and white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
340 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-5602-9 (9781474456029)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Marcelline Block is Adjunct Professor at LIM College, New York Dr Jennifer Kirby is a Senior Tutor at Massey University
Content
List of Figures Notes on Contributors Acknowledgments
Introduction: Michel Gondry as Trans-cultural Auteur - Marcelline Block and Jennifer Kirby
Part I Dreams, Play and Whimsy
1. "We Can Change the Whole Narrative": Crafting Play and Nostalgia in Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep and Mood Indigo - Danica van de Velde
2. In Dreams and in Love There are no Impossibilities:?Michel Gondry's Cinema and the Aesthetics of the Oneiric - Bruno Surace
3. I Am Collecting Beautiful Objects: Michel Gondry's Taxidermy of Emotions - Jenny Pyke
4. The Cost of Whimsy in Mood Indigo and The Grand Budapest Hotel - Mica Hilson
Part II French Cinema and Identity
5. L'amour fou revisited: The surrealist poetics of Michel Gondry - Sian Mitchell
6. On the Road to Adulthood: Microbe & Gasoline and The French Road Movie - Marcelline Block and Jennifer Kirby
Part III Narrative and Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
7. Rethinking Romantic Comedy through the Art Film: Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Raffaele Ariano
8. Apocalypse Ever After: Lifted Veils and Transcendent Time in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Sheheryar B. Sheikh
Part IV Gondry In/On America
9. The Reel and Surreal of Race in America: Michel Gondry and the African-American Identity Crisis of Dave Chappelle - Monique Taylor
10. Memory a la Americana: From Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to Be Kind Rewind - Yu-Yun Hsieh
11. Playing with Superheroes: Genre, Aesthetics and Deconstruction in The Green Hornet - Jennifer Kirby
Part V Multi-Media: Music Video, Documentary, Television
12. "It Would not be Just Be Visual, it Could Have Words and a Story": Performance and Narrative in the Music Video Oeuvre of Michel Gondry - Daniel Klug
13. Death and Pickles: Thinking Through Gondry's Neighborhood - Lisa DeTora
Index
Introduction: Michel Gondry as Trans-cultural Auteur - Marcelline Block and Jennifer Kirby
Part I Dreams, Play and Whimsy
1. "We Can Change the Whole Narrative": Crafting Play and Nostalgia in Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep and Mood Indigo - Danica van de Velde
2. In Dreams and in Love There are no Impossibilities:?Michel Gondry's Cinema and the Aesthetics of the Oneiric - Bruno Surace
3. I Am Collecting Beautiful Objects: Michel Gondry's Taxidermy of Emotions - Jenny Pyke
4. The Cost of Whimsy in Mood Indigo and The Grand Budapest Hotel - Mica Hilson
Part II French Cinema and Identity
5. L'amour fou revisited: The surrealist poetics of Michel Gondry - Sian Mitchell
6. On the Road to Adulthood: Microbe & Gasoline and The French Road Movie - Marcelline Block and Jennifer Kirby
Part III Narrative and Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
7. Rethinking Romantic Comedy through the Art Film: Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Raffaele Ariano
8. Apocalypse Ever After: Lifted Veils and Transcendent Time in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Sheheryar B. Sheikh
Part IV Gondry In/On America
9. The Reel and Surreal of Race in America: Michel Gondry and the African-American Identity Crisis of Dave Chappelle - Monique Taylor
10. Memory a la Americana: From Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to Be Kind Rewind - Yu-Yun Hsieh
11. Playing with Superheroes: Genre, Aesthetics and Deconstruction in The Green Hornet - Jennifer Kirby
Part V Multi-Media: Music Video, Documentary, Television
12. "It Would not be Just Be Visual, it Could Have Words and a Story": Performance and Narrative in the Music Video Oeuvre of Michel Gondry - Daniel Klug
13. Death and Pickles: Thinking Through Gondry's Neighborhood - Lisa DeTora
Index