
Arthouse Crime Scenes
Art Film, Genre and Crime in Contemporary World Cinema
Geoff King(Author)
Bloomsbury Academic (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 25. June 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
979-8-7651-0814-7 (ISBN)
Description
How is crime represented in art cinema? And how can this be understood in the context of global sociopolitical and film-industrial trends? Crime might be shown or lurk only at the edges. It might be left unresolved or unexplained. Arthouse crimes can be petty and small scale or raise big questions associated with the arthouse sector: political issues, the nature of humanity, truth and knowability.
Arthouse Crime Scenes is the first book to address the relationship between art cinema and crime, contributing to the study of both categories. Case studies are provided of works by celebrated filmmakers including Lucretia Martell, Kleber Mendonca Filho, Bong Joon Ho, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Jia Zhangke, Andrey Zvyagintsez and Lee Chang-dong.
Textual analysis is combined with focus on social and industrial contexts. A recurring theme is the situation of arthouse crime films within differing manifestations of broader processes of late-modern neoliberal globalization and cultural hybridity. Approaches examined range from the oblique to social realism and other mixtures of crime and arthouse tendencies.
Arthouse Crime Scenes is the first book to address the relationship between art cinema and crime, contributing to the study of both categories. Case studies are provided of works by celebrated filmmakers including Lucretia Martell, Kleber Mendonca Filho, Bong Joon Ho, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Jia Zhangke, Andrey Zvyagintsez and Lee Chang-dong.
Textual analysis is combined with focus on social and industrial contexts. A recurring theme is the situation of arthouse crime films within differing manifestations of broader processes of late-modern neoliberal globalization and cultural hybridity. Approaches examined range from the oblique to social realism and other mixtures of crime and arthouse tendencies.
Reviews / Votes
Arthouse Crime Scenes is an intelligently crafted exploration of the terrain that unfolds when films variously categorized as 'arthouse' collide (or not) with the generic conventions of crime, and how that landscape is both illuminated and weathered by the forces of late capitalism. * Richard Langley, Associate Professor in Film, Birmingham University, UK * An ambitiously diverse survey, roaming the globe to turn a critical spotlight on international crime cinema, the darkest and most fascinating corners of world filmmaking. Essential reading for those interested in genre, art cinema's cross-overs with popular culture, and how film noir's legacy shapes some of our leading auteurs today. * Tim Palmer, Professor of Film Studies, University of North Carolina Wilmington, USA *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
29 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-7651-0814-7 (9798765108147)
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
Person
Geoff King is Emeritus Professor of Film Studies at Brunel University London, UK, and author of numerous books, including The Cinema of Discomfort: Disquieting, Awkward and Uncomfortable Experiences in Contemporary Art and Indie Film (Bloomsbury, 2021), Positioning Art Cinema: Film and Cultural Value (Bloomsbury, 2019) and Quality Hollywood: Markers of Distinction in Contemporary Studio Film (Bloomsbury, 2015).
Content
Introduction: Arthouse Crime Scenes
1. Setting the Scene: Art Cinema, Genre, Crime
2. Oblique Crimes: The Headless Woman and Neighbouring Sounds
3. 'Quality' Crime and Cultural Hybridity: Memories of Murder and The Secret in Their Eyes
4. Small-time Crime, Low-key Realism: XiaoWu/Pickpocket and Police, Adjective
5. Murder, Truth and Humanity: Once Upon a Time in Anatolia and The Third Murder
6. Missing, Presumed: Loveless and Burning
7. Robbery: The Robber, Revanche and Towards a Conclusion
Index
1. Setting the Scene: Art Cinema, Genre, Crime
2. Oblique Crimes: The Headless Woman and Neighbouring Sounds
3. 'Quality' Crime and Cultural Hybridity: Memories of Murder and The Secret in Their Eyes
4. Small-time Crime, Low-key Realism: XiaoWu/Pickpocket and Police, Adjective
5. Murder, Truth and Humanity: Once Upon a Time in Anatolia and The Third Murder
6. Missing, Presumed: Loveless and Burning
7. Robbery: The Robber, Revanche and Towards a Conclusion
Index