TY - JOUR AU - Philip, VG Bijoy PY - 2019/01/01 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Left Bank Cinema: Memories of History and the Experience of Time JF - Tattva Journal of Philosophy JA - Tattva VL - 11 IS - 1 SE - DO - 10.12726/tjp.21.1 UR - https://journals.christuniversity.in/index.php/tattva/article/view/1860 SP - 1-18 AB - <p>In this paper, I use two films—<em>Les Statues MeurrentAussi</em> (<em>Statues also Die</em>, 1953) directed by Resnais and Marker and <em>Sans Soleil</em> (<em>Sunless</em>, 1983) as representatives of Left Bank cinema to show how they construct experiences of time and memory using various modernist strategies. Key to this is the use of a mental journey genre in modernist cinema and the construction of a facial <em>dispositif</em> which leads to a perceptual experiencing of inner states. <em>Les Statues MeurrentAussi </em>is a key film in the history of French cinema as it highlights Alain Resnais’ and Chris Marker’s early commitment towards a politically <em>avant-garde</em> filmmaking style. The film was banned for many decades because it was highly critical of France’s colonial interests. The film is also a proof to the less emphasised collaboration between two pioneering directors and especially in their use of the essay film genre. <em>Sans Soleil</em> on the other hand is considered as a philosophical masterpiece because of its meditations on time and memory. In taking these two films, I hope not only to demonstrate cinema’s capability to generate affective spatio-temporal states but also to highlight a piece of film history which is often misappropriated under the tag of the French New Wave.</p> ER -