Visual Storytelling the Imaginary in Cinema

Authors

  • Andrei Petrea I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest, Romania

Keywords:

oneiric cinema, dreaming scenes, surreal cinema, visual storytelling, imaginary

Abstract

Based on real-life events—a statement each of us has read in the description of a fiction artwork. Whether it’s literature, theatre, or film, humans have always been attracted to a subject that is similar to their real-life experiences. The Impressionist movement in fine arts and the invention of photography made paintings that included high-fidelity representations of the environment become redundant. This was happening because of the advance in technical means.

The used quote supports cinema’s will to empower the imaginary. Fiction films can be treated as a dream, as a universe of those who are trying to project things that are untouchable in the real world. The purpose of this paper is not that of differentiating fiction from documentary. We are trying to discover what means directors use to separate different narrative universes described in a single film so that the audience understands it is being transported to a dream, a memory, or simply an imaginary space created as a result of a mental disorder. Therefore, we won’t analyse the dream as a function, but as a form. Our purpose is to identify the recipes, if those really exist, through which the visual language can suggest or even amplify the existence of a border between real and surreal.

References

Abū ʻAlī al-Ḥasan Ibn al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī Ibn al-Hait̲am, Witelo (1572). Bischoff’scher Buchladen, Basel Opticae thesaurus. Alhazeni Arabis libri septem, nunc primum editi: ; eiusdem liber de crepusculis et nubium ascensionibus. item Vitelloni Thuringopoloni opticae libri X. Basileae: per Episcopios.

Artemidorus (1990). Interpretation of Dreams: Oneirocritica. Revised edition. Torrance, Cal: Original Books.

Artemidorus (Daldianus.), Hercher, R. (1864). Artemidori Daldiani Onirocriticon libri V. In aedibus B. G. Teubneri.

Bazin, A. (1976). Qu’est-ce que le cinéma ?. Paris: Cerf.

Bazin, A., Renoir, J., Andrew, D. (2004). What Is Cinema? Vol. 1. Translated by Hugh Gray. Second edition. Berkeley Los Angeles London: University of California Press.

Botz-Bornstein, T. (2008). Films and Dreams: Tarkovsky, Bergman, Sokurov, Kubrick, and Wong Kar-Wai. 0 edition. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books.

Chevalier, J., Gheerbrant, A. (1997) The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols. Translated by John Buchanan-Brown. 2nd Revised ed. edition. London: Penguin Books.

Freud, S. (1900). Die Traumdeutung. Leipzig, Wien: Franz Deuticke.

Freud, S. (2010). Interpretation of Dreams: The Complete and Definitive Text. 1st edition. New York: Basic Books.

Kosuth, G. (2016). Visul În Film Stilistica Reprezentarilor Onirice În Filmul Mut. București: UNATC Press.

Langer, S.K. (1968). Reflections on Art: A Source Book of Writings by Artists, Critics, and Philosophers. 2nd Edition. Oxford.

Leeds, A., Berg Esenwein, J. (n.d.). Writing the Photoplay.

Malraux, A. (1946). Esquisse d’une Psychologie Du Cinéma. France: Gallimard.

Moise, C. (2014). Oneiric Cinema and the Diegesis of Film Consciousness (BA Thesis). Bard College Berlin.

Photography Edition-Vol. 1-Navy Training Courses Naval Aviation (n.d.).

Thonemann, P. (2020). An Ancient Dream Manual: Artemidorus’ The Interpretation of Dreams. OUP Oxford.

Eggers, R. (Director), Blaschke, J. (Director of Photography). (2019). The Lighthouse [Film]. A24.

Lumière, A. (Director), and Lumière, L. (Director and Director of Photography). (1895). L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat [Film]. Société Lumière

Lyne, A. (Director) (1990). Jacob’s Ladder [Film]. Carolco Pictures.

Méliès, G. (Director). (1896). Le Cauchemar [Film]. Star Film Company.

Méliès, G. (Director). (1898). La Lune à un Mètre [Film]. Star Film Company.

Murnau, F.W. (Director), Rosher, C., Struss, K. (Directors of Photography). (1927). Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans [Film]. Fox Film Corporation.

Noé, G. (Director), Debbie, B. (Director of Photography). (2009). Enter the Void [Film]. Fidélité Films.

Porter, E. (Director).1906). Dream of a Rarebit Fiend [Film]. Edison Manufacturing Company.

von Trier, L. (Director), Claro, M.A. (Director of Photography). (2011). Melancholia [Film]. Zentropa Entertainments.

von Trier, L. (Director), Claro, M.A. (Director of Photography). (2013). Nymphomaniac [Film]. Zentropa Entertainments.

von Trier, L. (Director), Claro, M.A. (Director of Photography). (2018). The House that Jack Built [Film]. Zentropa.

von Trier, L. (Director), Dod Mantle, A. (Director of Photography). (2009). Antichrist [Film]. Zentropa Entertainments.

Downloads

Published

2022-12-07

How to Cite

Petrea, A. (2022). Visual Storytelling the Imaginary in Cinema. Doctoral Horizons, 3(1), 59–83. Retrieved from https://doctoral-horizons.unatcpress.ro/index.php/Journal/article/view/41