From the Back Cover
THE STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS in the Films of Alain Resnais HAIM CALLEV
The representation of thoughts and emotions streaming through a character's mind is imperative in cinematic expression. It grants penetration beyond the character's surface behavior and reaches inner dimensions of his existence. The challenge is vital in a medium which photographically reproduces the concrete visible world in action rather than the intangible invisible drama within the individual's consciousness. The book introduces the potentialities of a cinematic representation of STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS through the achievements of Alain Resnais. Of all filmmakers, he has been the most involved in a deliberate effort to represent mental processes of characters in his films. The insights presented in this book have been reached through a close examination of the practice of major filmmakers. Haim Callev is a theoretician and a practising filmmaker. He has a Ph.D. degree in Film from Columbia University. Among other publications by the author is the book Cinematic Expression, a two part study of expressive practices in the first centenary of cinema, based on film analysis. Part one deals with cinematic space and part two with screen time.
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The cinematic medium presents inherent potentialities for the representation of mental processes. The non-verbal prespeech level of thought can find its equivalent in the primary non-cognitive nature of cinematic images and sounds. Instantaneous transitions between shots can follow the most whimsical connections between images and entire spatial audio-visual configurations, thus simulating free association. Varying rhythms of exchange between images can be intermittently used to represent mental processes and the external world.
To date, the most valuable representation of stream of consciousness has been achieved in literature. Most enlightening insights into the human spirit have been reached through its practice. Literature as a medium is however confined to the verbal system of abstraction. Consequently, it is also limited in the artistic analogy it can produce to the characters' mental flow.
The importance of a cinematic representation of stream of consciousness is that it offers an entirely different system of abstraction and a different arsenal of expressive tools. Consequenly, it makes possible an alternative exploration of thoughts and emotions, which are accessible only to its representational apparatus, thus enabling the creation of a uniquely cinematic analogy to the mental flow.
However, while some of the best achievements in cinematic culture are to be found in films representing the characters' mental flow, only a partial and timid usage of the potentialities, available in the medium for such representation, has been exploited.
Considering the importance of reaching a fuller cinematic representation of stream of consciousness, this book presents a systematic study of its application by one of its most consistant and committed practitioners, Alain Resnais. His accomplishments in exploring the potentialities of the medium, and in creating expressive tools for such representation, have been closely examined in a shot by shot analysis of five of his feature films. Mental evocations and their anchoring sequences have been graphically described and timed in story board drawings. These descriptions are presented in the chapter on The Flash of Thought strategy, while they are omitted in discussing other strategies, for the sake of a more fluent presentation.
This study should lead to a better understanding of the potentialities of the cinematic medium in representing stream of consciousness and should create analytical tools for the evaluation of such practices.
