Description
Book SynopsisPaolo Sorrentino has emerged as one of the most compelling figures in twenty-first-century European film. This book is a critical examination of Sorrentino’s work, focusing on his emergence as a preeminent transnational auteur.
Trade Review...Kilbourn’s monograph will form a solid foundation for what will likely be an outpouring of English-language writing on the director as he continues to produce works for a global audience. -- Allison Cooper, Bowdoin College * Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies *
I highly recommend this book. It is a treasure trove of material and insight: assiduously researched, built upon minute observation, and grounded in important issues around Sorrentino and contemporary transnational cinema and media. It will be a touchstone for Sorrentino studies, setting a very high bar for its successors -- Frank Burke, Queen’s University * Italian Studies *
With each new film, the need for a book capable of bridging the local and global and of accounting for the problematic aspects of Sorrentino’s aesthetic has become ever more pressing. That need has now been met. Film by film, Kilbourn maps and explains Sorrentino’s evolving aesthetic with great dexterity, clarity, and intellectual rigor, making a strong case for Sorrentino’s status as one of the most important cinematic artists of our age. This book is invaluable for newcomers and specialists alike and will undoubtedly become an essential touchstone for all future studies of the director. -- Alex Marlow-Mann, University of Kent
This elegantly written book is the first extensive study in English of Italy’s leading contemporary director. It places Sorrentino more firmly on the Anglophone film-critical map, and offers an insightful reading of each of his films. Kilbourn is also incisive on the politics of the auteur that have elevated Sorrentino internationally and on his films’ sometimes problematic gender politics. As such, this book is a welcome and thorough examination of Sorrentino as an intermedial and transnational auteur, and will be required reading for all those interested in contemporary Italian cinema. -- Catherine O'Rawe, author of
Stars and Masculinities in Contemporary Italian CinemaThe Cinema of Paolo Sorrentino will be a touchstone for future work on the director. Nothing of the sort exists that engages with Sorrentino’s entire oeuvre. Kilbourn writes in a lively, clear, and engaging tone, translating concepts from a wide array of fields in a very accessible fashion. The astute and highly original analyses of Sorrentino's films will make important contributions to film genre studies, discourses around auteurism, and the stakes of transnational cinema. -- Dana Renga, author of
Mafia Movies: A ReaderRichly researched and ultimately rewarding book. * Studies in European Cinema *
Newcomers to Sorrentino who seek a guided entry into his works as well as experts who want to prod deeper will find a valuable and enriching experience with this text. * University of Toronto Quarterly *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction: Commitment to Style
1.
One Man Up (
L’uomo in piú): The Consequences of Coincidence
2.
The Consequences of Love (
Le conseguenze dell’amore): This Must Be the (Non-) Place
3.
The Family Friend (
L’amico di famiglia): “Ridiculous Men and Beautiful Women”
4. “What Will They Remember About You?”
Il Divo and the Possibility of a Twenty-First-Century Political Film
5.
This Must Be the Place: From the Ridiculous to the Unspeakable (A Holocaust Road Movie)
6.
The Great Beauty (
La grande bellezza): Reflective Nostalgia and the Ironic Elegiac
7.
Youth (
La giovinezza): Between Horror and Desire (
Life’s Last Day)
8.
Ceci n’est pas un pape: Postsecular Melodrama in
The Young PopeCoda: Toward a Post-Political Film:
Loro and the Mediatic Elegiac
Conclusion: Style as Commitment
Notes
Bibliography
Index
