Summer 2013 - The Independent Schools' Modern Language ...

Review Article: Studying French Cinema...As
Studying French Cinema I Vanderschelden
ISBN-13: 978-1906733155
easy as 1, 2, 3?
The image of the delightful Jojo, one of Etre et avoir’s most engaging protagonists,
holding up the paint-stained palms of his hands for inspection, is
an appropriate choice for Isabelle Vanderschelden’s new publication Studying
French Cinema. Not only is it representative of the diversity and contemporariness
of the range of films presented by the author but will also resonate
with Modern Foreign Languages teachers; teaching film can be a messy business.
However well-read our pupils may be, and however many films they may
have seen, the majority of sixth formers will not have studied cinema before.
That their first experience of doing so is as part of a foreign language syllabus
which is dense enough already does not allow much time to learn the
skills and terminology of film studies. Instead, we expect them to apply their
knowledge of analysis of literary texts to their reading of film or we may introduce
some key vocabulary in the target language on a specific point of
interest, such as different shots or camera angles. In certain contexts, this is
absolutely appropriate; we may only be showing an excerpt of a film as a
stimulus for a debate or role-play or to introduce a culturally specific phenomenon,
such as ethnic diversity, violence in schools or evolving family
models. However, when more detailed interpretations are required, sixthformers
do need more focused guidance on how to study cinema. Nine of the
twenty-one texts listed as options for the Cambridge Pre U French cultural
topic are films and they remain a consistently popular choice among A Level
pupils for the Oral Examination. Not only will taught, rigorous analysis enhance
their studies and enrich their reading of the films in question, but it will
prepare them for any future study within the medium of film.
The title of Vanderschelden’s new book suggests itself as the perfect aid to
French teachers trying to deliver such a programme. Arguably, the rather
general designation is misleading and would benefit from a subtitle at the
least; readers expecting to discover the necessary techniques and theoretical
frameworks to explore the narrative, artistic and cultural nuances of French
cinema will not find them here. However, this book is a valuable resource,
containing ten excellent essays based upon a variety of well-chosen films,
from Les 400 coups (1959) to Le Grand voyage (2004). Each chapter begins
by assuming no knowledge of the film’s makers or context or its thematic
and artistic qualities but quickly develops, offering succinct yet comprehensive
studies that raise interesting questions; Les 400 coups is given a fresh
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