As spectators, we are  force-fed a worldview shaped by the narrator’s perspective and the director’s vision. This prompts the question: how can the complexity of a narrative be effectively translated into film? How can filmmakers diversify their narrative style to convey their unique perspectives ?

The narrator plays a crucial role in storytelling: as we see and hear a character’s perspective, we often accept their account as the sole truth. However, there are always two sides to a story. Rashomon gave name to its eponymous Rashomon effect, for presenting multiple, contradictory interpretations of the same event. Another classic is Citizen Kane, often hailed as “the greatest film ever made”, which borrows stylistic elements from German expressionism, as in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. A more modern example is Run Lola Run, where one character experiences different versions of the same event in a dream-like frenzy. Storytelling inherently assumes a particular standpoint. As such, its very essence is political; narratives are instrumentalized to prove one’s point. Hero shows how epic tales are used to justify power in the name of justice. In The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer controversially lets the perpetrators of the Indonesian mass-killings re-enact their crimes.

This subjectivity allows the spectator to discover an entirely new perception. In The Silence, the viewer literally discovers a new perceptual world through the eyes of a blind musician. In Lessons of Darkness, the camera speaks for itself to depict the surreal spectacle of Kuwait’s
ravaged oil fields. This abundance of perspectives makes us question the nature of truth. Inland Empire, typical of David Lynch, is a whirlpool of confusion that pulls us into bizarre worlds. The Saragossa Manuscript digs deeper and deeper into its frame story structure. As for Exit Through the Gift Shop by Banksy (yes, the street artist), we don’t even know if it’s a documentary or just a very elaborate hoax. Finally, Close-up  similarly mixes documentary and fiction lingo, probing the malleability of one’s identity.

This fall 2024 semester, Filmstelle will start its program on the 17th of September with Citizen Kane by Orson Welles. Come by and stay tuned !