Cinema of Yorgos Lanthimos, The: Films, Form, Philosophy

by Eddie Falvey (editor)

From the critical and commercial fanfare his films generate, it is largely understood that Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the more interesting filmmakers to have emerged out of the new century. A markedly transnational filmmaker, between Dogtooth and The Favourite Lanthimos has managed to traverse the gap between the art-house and mainstream while not once sacrificing his unique style and worldview. His films, while often difficult, showcase his talents as a filmmaker, collaborator, and commentator on the human condition. Accompanied by a trademark acerbic wit, Lanthimos's films take aim at humanity's more contemptible and absurd designs as he explores a thematic preoccupation with, among other things, power, trauma, isolation, sex, and violence.

This edited collection covers everything from an early career that was marked by experimentation with a range of different media to international festival hits including Dogtooth , The Lobster , The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and the Academy Award-winning "historical" epic The Favourite , Lanthimos's most successful feature to date. All his work demonstrates a fascinating contravention of aesthetic, thematic, and generic boundaries that forms the basis of some of the analyses to be found here. Featuring a roster of talented scholars, both new and established, The Cinema of Yorgos Films, Form, Philosophy provides a timely compendium of critical approaches to one of the most distinct voices in contemporary film.

300 pages, Hardcover

Published July 14, 2022

Reviews

[ліда лісова · Rating 4 out of 5]

на диво добра база по лантімосу — грецькі міти, впливи кафки, тваринність, метонімія й абсурд, як інструмент, грецька дивна хвиля… про все не надто розлого, але структуровано.

the closer the protagonists get in Lanthimos’s films, the wider the distance between the events on screen and the viewer becomes—on an emotional, cognitive, and/or semantic level.

[Antonio Di · Rating 3 out of 5]

A real good choice for all Lanthimos' lover. The book brings together some studies and insights into the Greek director's cinema, at least up to the film “The Favourite”. Lanthimos' aesthetics, his style, his techniques are analysed from different perspectives: technical, philosophical, political, sexual and social. Some aspects that the viewer of his films knows and others that may not have been grasped on a first or second viewing of the film are highlighted. A book that therefore cannot disappoint Yorgos' followers, but which in some aspects is repetitive (precisely because of its nature as a collection of essays), and gets a little watered down on the same facets. The book nevertheless enlightens and can be appreciated, leading to an immediate desire to see each film again.