Department of European Studies & Modern Languages, Unit Catalogue 2008/09 |
EU30018 French national option F4: Films of the nouvelle vague |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Honours |
| Semester: 2 |
| Assessment: ES67CW33 |
| Requisites: |
| Before taking this unit you must take EU20009 |
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Aims: To study the history, achievements and significance of the Nouvelle Vague; to develop an understand of the works of key directors within the movement, from a variety of theoretical and critical perspectives; to situate the films within the context of modernism and contemporary French culture.
Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to: * explain the aims and achievements of the Nouvelle Vague, and demonstrate sound understanding of the films studied; * analyse films critically, using appropriate vocabulary and idiom; * demonstrate familiarity with relevant theories, and the ability to apply these to filmic texts; * compare and contrast the works of the directors being studied, and account for similarities and differences discovered; * situate these films in relation to modernist art and literature in France; * trace the influence of the movement upon contemporary French cinema. Content: Topics for study include: the historical, cultural and social context of the Nouvelle Vague; ways in which the Nouvelle Vague altered the language and nature of film, with particular reference to Astruc, the Cahiers group, and the auteur theory; the fragmentation of narrative in relation to editing, mis-en-scene, and sound; the Nouvelle Vague and modernism; the legacy of the Nouvelle Vague. Films to be studied will include: Jean-Luc Godard, A Bout de souffle (1960), Vivre sa vie (1962); Louis Malle, Le Feu follet (1963), Le Souffle au coeur (1971); Alain Resnais, Hiroshima mon amour (1959) (to be studied in conjunction with the script by Marguerite Duras, Hiroshima mon amour, Gallimard 1960), L'Annee derniere a Marienbad (1961); Francois Truffaut, Les 400 coups (1959), Jules et Jim (1961). |