Unspoken Cinema

  if these holes could talk, they'd sing... - the hole by tsai ming-liang (YouTube) 1' (ilestsixheures) 1er avril 2020 

Latest addition to the Library page at Unspoken Cinema: "This article advances mutism as a creative mode and conceptual tool to treat silence in cinema. Whereas mutism can be a productive concept for the study of auditory and visual absence in a broader theoretical framework, my focus here is on the silence of film characters. Drawing on correspondences between the critical and the clinical in Gilles Deleuze’s writing, I argue that adopting mutism as a tool of film-philosophy permits us to supersede traditional film analysis and examine silence not as an interpretive condition at the level of the plot but as a critical-clinical mode of experimentation related to the symptomatology of life. After presenting a brief clinical history of “elective” and “selective” mutism, I then draw on the suppressed understanding of “elective mutism”. I demonstrate that “elective mutism”, which might appear to be a negative and powerless disorder in its clinical presentation, transforms itself into...

  JEANNE DIELMAN (1975): A Hiper-realidade do Cotidiano (YouTube) 34'46" (Arthur Tuoto) 13 Feb 2026 "Jeanne Dielman acompanha três dias da rotina rigorosa de uma viúva em Bruxelas, cuja vida é sustentada por um duplo trabalho doméstico e sexual. Aos poucos, pequenas falhas nesse cotidiano começam a corroer essa ordem e revelam como o tempo, o espaço e os objetos passam a agir contra ela. A aula destaca como Chantal Akerman transforma tarefas banais em matéria dramática, hipervisibiliza o trabalho invisível das mulheres e subverte o naturalismo clássico ao dilatar planos e construir uma “hiper-realidade” formal."

Laïla Pakalnina – Entretien #1 – Cadrer le mouvement de la vie - Les entretiens Balises (YouTube) 13'04" (Bibliothèque Publique d'Information) 16 février 2026 "Dans un entretien filmé accordé à Balises, Laïla Pakalnina (Lettonie/Latvia) explique que, selon elle, les plans fixes sont animés par des mouvements propres à la composition dans le cadre, au rythme donné par le montage et à la vie elle-même, captée par la caméra.   Ses choix esthétiques répondent ainsi à une nécessité d’être à l’écoute et à l'affût de ce qui advient dans un environnement donné, près d’une cascade ( Chute d’eau , 2016), sous un pont ( Le Premier pont , 2020), dans une usine de fabrication de cuillères en plastique ( La Cuillère , 2019) ou à un arrêt de bus ( Terminus , 2024)."  Cet entretien a été enregistré au Centre Pompidou le 10 janvier 2026, en partenariat avec l'université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

  "a celebration of the art and philosophy of slow cinema" https://www.facebook.com/mindanaoslow/

"EIGHT BRIDGES is, by turns, meditative and contemplative. By asking us to remember and enjoy the fundamental pleasure of cinema, within the continual barrage of commercial advertising and of films/shows made and marketed for easy consumption, plus continual Capitalist overloading of our perceptual faculties, exacerbated by the expanding (and visually contracting) dominance of cellphones, and the concerning political tension between Europe and Trump’s “MAGA” America, Benning offers an extended moment, if not of therapy, at least of quiet thoughtfulness and awareness—and cinematic pleasure." Scott Macdonald "JAMES BENNING: Before I made a shot, I’d already done a lot of advance planning. I’d decided to get to each bridge at a particular time of the day. And I paced my trip to each bridge in order to have ideal weather conditions for what I wanted to record on the day I’d arrive. For example, I wanted a different kind of sky at each place where I filmed. In 2001, for SOGOB...

Recent addition to the Bibliography page  at Unspoken Cinema: "The traditional Japanese concept of ma refers to a pause or a space, "the moment of no action, the stillness and silence that is filled with more powerful energy than the moments of action" on the classic Noh stage. It also refers to the pauses taken in between notes by a shakuhachi flute player or the spaces between stones in a Zen garden which reveal unexpected vistas and perspectives. The eighteen thought-provoking essays in this book present the work of talented writers and artists with vast experience in the fields of Japanese art, religion, music and philosophy. They show us how the experience of ma in the traditional Zen arts and practices can be used to create a greater awareness of our surroundings to vastly improve our lives in many other areas." Ken Rogers, John Einarsen & al. ; Ma: The Japanese Secret to Contemplation and Calm , 2025 Highlights include: " The Unspoken Space We Share ...

Le sommaire de 2025 sur Unspoken Cinema est complet, disponible ici . Ou sur la page Index . The 2025 table of content on Unspoken Cinema is completed, available here . Or on the Index page.

  Rencontre avec le réalisateur Wang Bing // Trilogie "Jeunesse" (20/02/2026) (YouTube) 50'03" (Boutique Potemkine) 26 Février 2026

We have reached (and passed) the bar of 500 films listed on the Recommended Contemplative Cinema page ! Since 1960, the first ever Contemplative film recorded in the database: Naked Island , to Laguna , the latest Sharunas Bartas film of 2025, film #500 on the list. In 65 years, this accounts for an average of 7.7 films per year. But these days, it's more like 25 per year. Since last year, the list can be browsed at my Letterboxd .

François Bégaudeau - Arracher du temps pour soi (YouTube) 5'37" (Marina Cristalle) 24 Fev 2019

Latest addition to the Library page at Unspoken Cinema: "The paper analyses the re-conceptualization of the intermedial trope of the tableau vivant in recent East European cinema through several examples from Hungarian and Russian films directed by György Pálfi, Kornél Mundruczó, Benedek Fliegauf, Béla Tarr, and Andrei Zvyagintsev. The tableau vivant in these films is not conceived primarily as an embodiment of a painting, the introduction of “the real into the image” (as Brigitte Peucker described), instead it appears more like the objectification of bodies as images, and something that we can associate with what Mario Perniola considers the “sex appeal of the inorganic” or “the Egyptian moment in art.” As such, the tableau becomes a powerful agent in generating metanarratives, offering a blueprint for a “big picture,” a comprehensive vision of the world (reinforced by recurring mythological themes like the genesis or the end of the world, the loss of Paradise, etc.). We may con...

  Is Slow Cinema the Antidote to ADHD? (YouTube) 4'04" (Hold My Theory) 28 Jan 2026

Gaman 我慢 Le fait d’endurer intérieurement avec dignité et patience. Une notion de force silencieuse : accueillir les difficultés avec calme et retenue, tenir bon sans se plaindre. Comme une sorte d’harmonie et de maîtrise de soi. Ichi-Nichi 一日 Vivre la journée comme une unité précieuse. Le rappel que chaque jour est un tout en soi, unique, complet et qui ne reviendra jamais. Un terme puissant, qui invite à habiter pleinement le moment présent. Ichigo Ichie 一期一会 "Une fois, une rencontre". Célébrer chaque instant comme un moment unique, qui ne reviendra jamais. Yoin 余韻 L’arrière-goût agréable d’un moment vécu. Ce qui reste en nous quand tout est pourtant terminé : la dernière note d’une musique, une émotion ressentie, un silence habité… Une sorte d’écho qui prolonge l’instant au-delà de sa fin. Michi 道 Le chemin, au sens physique et spirituel. La voie que l’on construit en marchant. Chaque pas, chaque détour, chaque rencontre contribue à tracer son propre chemin intérieur. Yori...