The Films of Claire Denis: Intimacy on the Border

The films of Claire Denis, one of the most challenging and respected of contemporary filmmakers, probe the psyche of global citizenship, tracing the borderlines of family, desire, nationality and power. This book explores the themes she addresses in her films, such as kinship and landscape, Neo-Colonialism and New French Extremity.
The films of Claire Denis, one of the most challenging and respected of contemporary filmmakers, probe the psyche of global citizenship, tracing the borderlines of family, desire, nationality and power. With subtlety, depth and at times minimalism and abstraction, her films – including “Chocolat”, “Beau travail” and “White Material” – explore connections between national experience and individual circumstance, visualizing the complications of such dualities. Following a Foreword by Wim Wenders, with whom Denis worked prior to making her own movies, international contributors explore the themes she addresses in her films, such as kinship and landscape, Neo-Colonialism and New French Extremity. Original interviews with an editor, actor and two composers most familiar with the working style of Denis, and with Denis herself, also reveal fresh facets of this intrepid filmmaker. As Wim Wenders writes in his Foreword: ‘This book will hopefully throw many new lights on the amazing director that Klarchen [Claire Denis] became, a path she carved out all on her own.’