The thinking machine 26: only free gestures
DirectorsCristina Álvarez López, Adrian Martin
In 1984, Raymond Bellour reflected on a method and style of film analysis that grasped – as modern cinema itself also did – for decisive moments of absolute stillness, freezing, arrest. The emblem of this revelatory stasis was (as Serge Daney attested) the face of young Jean-Pierre Léaud on the beach at the end of François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959). Yet Bellour also anticipated a time when analysis would reinvent itself audiovisually as “only free gestures” – once time has passed and the freeze-frame has burned itself up. Let us look into Léaud’s face for a response…
Sign in to add to your listWhat critics are saying
Verdicts use the same scale as your list: highly recommended through avoid — plus optional scores and blurbs.
Nobody on Critic, Sir! has logged a verdict for this title yet. The silence is either respectful or suspicious.
Sign in and use Add to My List below to share your own verdict.
Watching Lists
Sign in to create and edit public lists.
Loading lists…
Purchase & Discovery
Find this title on Amazon
Digital
Prime Video & digitalAmazon mixes rent, buy, and Prime in one place — one search covers the usual options.
Physical edition
4K Blu-ray & physical releasesSearch on AmazonOfficial merchandise
Official-style merch searchApparel, collectibles, and moreAs an Amazon Associate, Critic, Sir! earns from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure