Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub

Description

Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub: "Objectivists" in Cinema – Benoît Turquety This book is a deep exploration of the radical cinematic practice of Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub, two of the most uncompromising filmmakers in modern cinema. Benoît Turquety situates their work within a broader intellectual, political, and aesthetic tradition, analyzing their commitment to objectivity, minimalism, and historical materialism in filmmaking. Huillet and Straub are known for their rigorous, unadorned style, marked by long takes, non-professional actors, and a rejection of conventional cinematic storytelling. Turquety examines how their approach aligns with literary objectivism, Brechtian theater, and Marxist dialectics, emphasizing their insistence on formal precision, political engagement, and a resistance to commercial film norms. The book also explores their reinterpretations of historical texts, including their adaptations of Bach, Kafka, Brecht, and Pavese, as acts of cinematic archaeology that expose the ideological underpinnings of the past. Through detailed analysis and historical context, Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub: "Objectivists" in Cinema offers a rich intellectual and cinematic portrait of these filmmakers, making it an essential read for scholars and cinephiles interested in avant-garde cinema, film theory, and politically engaged filmmaking.