Read Instead…in Print

Read instead…in print #23

Filmmakers write better about their films than any critic, and no filmmaker wrote better about his films than François Truffaut. When he talks about them, he makes you present to their making. In light of this, his films become even more special. Because Truffaut lived through films and for making films. Films were his life. He wanted to make normal films, anchored in life, about how people lived, loved and suffered. He made films that resembled the ones he had loved, he said. But the films he made could only be invented. That bursting with life, that naturalism, that free movement of the camera – elements that indeed came to define La Nouvelle Vague – were further enhanced by all the personal emotions, all the love of cinema as art and as a craft he had accumulated over the years and which he poured into his films. Truffaut saw not with the eyes of the filmmaker, but with the eyes of the viewer. You may not be able to articulate what is going on on screen, but something happens and the magic of cinema takes over.

Truffaut on Cinema is a book of interviews. Originally assembled by Anne Gillain and published in French in 1988, the interviews are presented chronologically by film in what can be considered an artistic autobiography. Each interview offers an insightful look into the genesis of Truffaut’s films as he shares the sources of his inspiration, the choice of his themes, the development of his screenplays, as well as his relationships with collaborators, actors, and the circumstances surrounding the shooting of each film. Truffaut’s passion for cinema and skill for the craft reverberate through every single one of them.

Read instead… in print is about a good book about cinema or filmmakers. No discursive, pretentious analyses, no verbose scrutiny. Because the idea is to invite you to read the book, not read about it here. But instead of using social media, I use my journal. Back to basics. Take it as a wish to break free of over-reliance on social media (even if it’s just for posting a photo of a good book) for presenting my work, cultural finds and interests. These are things to be enjoyed as stand-alone pieces in a more substantial and meaningful way than showing them in the black hole of Instagram thronged with an audience with a short attention span. This is also a look through my voluminous collection of books about film that I use as research in my adamant decision to rely less and less on the online and more on more on print materials.