Brutal Intimacy is the first book to explore the fascinating films of contemporary France, ranging from mainstream genre spectaculars to arthouse experiments, and from wildly popular hits to films that deliberately alienate the viewer. Twenty-first-century France is a major source of international cinema-diverse and dynamic, embattled yet prosperous-a national cinema offering something for everyone. Tim Palmer investigates France's growing population of women filmmakers, its buoyant vanguard of first-time filmmakers, the rise of the controversial cinema du corps, and France's cinema icons: auteurs like Olivier Assayas, Claire Denis, Bruno Dumont, Gaspar Noe, and stars such as Vincent Cassel and Jean Dujardin. Analyzing dozens of breakthrough films, Brutal Intimacy situates infamous titles alongside many yet to be studied in the English language. Drawing on interviews and the testimony of leading film artists, Brutal Intimacy promises to be an influential treatment of French cinema today, its evolving rivalry with Hollywood, and its ambitious pursuits of audiences in Europe, North America, and around the world.

About the Author
Tim Palmer, a native of Beaver, PA., is a writer and photographer who has explored America from Alaska to Florida. His other books are Rivers of Pennsylvania and Stanislaus: The Struggle for a River.


Book Information
ISBN 9780819568274
Author Tim Palmer
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Wesleyan University Press
Publisher Wesleyan University Press