Film Language Research Articles

CINEMA OF EGYPT (1927-1970)

Abstract Each film expresses a certain place and time through the language of cinema and is part of the national culture. However, this does not mean that everything shot on the film strip belongs to the art of cinema. Evaluating art is an extremely complex issue, and what determines whether a film is art is not primarily determined by the critic or the viewer, but by many interrelated factors. The most important and mysterious of these is the ability of the artistic work to resist time and remain in memory. Based on this idea, Arab cinema has been in existence for about a century and its beginnings are almost entirely rooted in Egypt. Cinema in Egypt was born in the hands of an Egyptian woman. Azîza Amîr, who presented the first feature-length Egyptian film "Leila" on the big screen in 1927, was the producer and lead actress of this film. In 1929, Assia Dagher produced and starred in the film numbered "7" in the history of Egyptian cinema. From that moment on, Egyptian cinema was on the rise, and for decades it rapidly transformed into Arab cinema. Sound cinema was born in Egypt and developed almost exclusively in Egypt for the first twenty-five years of its existence. In 1932, a new trend in the history of Egyptian cinema began with the production of sound films in Egypt, starring famous Egyptian theatre actors and singers. In the late fifties, the Egyptian cinema experienced a combination of literature and cinema. In the 1960s, cinema began to move away from music. With the advent of the 1970s, music became more modern and cinema became less used. In the 1970s, the 1967 defeat appeared as a predominant theme in films such as "al-Hawf" (1972), "Ughniya ̒ alâ al-Mamarr" (1972) and "al-̒ Usfûr" (1973). In this study, which we have tried to outline above, it is aimed to examine the adventurous journey of Egyptian cinema from 1927 to the 1970s, with its ups and downs.

Cinematic Language under the Female Gaze: A Case Study of Li Yu

Abstract: This paper aims to discover the concept of the female gaze in the movie Lost in Beijing by Li Yu. The female gaze is a film theory that is in opposition to the male gaze, which is a way of viewing women as sexual beings and not as complex people. This paper posits that Li Yu uses the female gaze as a post-modernist technique to focus on the emotional and psychological aspects of the female characters, thus overturning the established Patriarchal gender norms and bringing to the fore the issues of gender inequality in contemporary Chinese society. Certain filming approaches, including those that include close ups and reflective shots, affect the experience of the film's main subject, who are women. The research also reviews the variance between the 'male gaze' and the 'female gaze' in movies, pointing out that the former is much more forthright and authentic in its portrayal of women. Lastly, the paper considers the further developments of the concept of the female gaze and possibilities to transform the film industry from the perspective of the female representation.

Yasujirō Ozu’s Cinematic Language and the Aesthetics of Healing

Yasujirō Ozu’s Cinematic Language and the Aesthetics of Healing

The Role of Cinematic Elements in Creating Sympathy for the Hero in Palestinian Narrative Films “Paradise Now Film” as a Model: Analytical Study

Objectives: The study aimed to explain the role of cinematic elements in creating sympathy among the audience with the hero in Palestinian feature films by studying the film “Paradise Now” as a model. Methods: Employing an analytical approach, the research utilized content analysis—a form of scientific research—to describe the explicit content of the media material being analyzed. Results: Cinematic elements significantly contributed to crafting a realistic cinematic illusion, incorporating plot, image, sound, and landscape design to complete the realistic picture and create a sense of sympathy for the audience with the martyr hero. The study identified eight issues in "Paradise Now," comprising six social and two political issues related to Palestinian rights and resistance to occupation. The film employed conflict, human concerns, and values frameworks to present these issues. The role of cinematic elements in generating sympathy for the hero was underscored, emphasizing cinematic language as a tool to convey the message.. Conclusion: The studies concluded that cinematic elements play a major role in creating and simulating the cinematic illusion of reality. The study called on research centers and researchers interested in the Arab-Israeli conflict to conduct more media studies that present the details of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in an impartial manner, and realistically document the violations and oppression practiced by Israel in the Palestinian territories against the Palestinians.

The Collapse of the Male Gaze in the Cinema of Bahram Beyzaie: The Crow and Maybe Some Other Time

Abstract This article explores the correlation between two of Bahram Beyzaie's films and Laura Mulvey's theories on the male gaze. The films in question are The Crow (Kalāgh, 1977) and Maybe Some Other Time (Shāyad Vaqti Digar, 1987). This article delves into the films’ narrative structures, revealing a subtle yet significant shift in the dynamics of power and gaze. Initially, both films appear to conform to conventional representations of male dominance, establishing a seemingly patriarchal landscape. However, as the narratives unfold, a gradual transformation occurs, subverting conventions of the male gaze. By employing Mulvey's framework, this article deciphers the interplay between Beyzaie's cinematic language and Mulvey's theoretical underpinnings, highlighting Beyzaie's role in deconstructing patriarchal structures and crafting a more nuanced portrayal of gender relations.

What can proper names in the Polish TV series „Rancho” tell us about „our local West”?

The paper offers a description of the names used in four seasons (1–4) of the Polish TV series “Rancho.” The analysis aims to show the mentality of the rural society that lives in Wilkowyje, its characteristics, and its views on political and social changes after Poland’s accession to the European Union. Europe is not the only symbol of the West entering this community. It is also, above all, America, embodied by the fi lm’s protagonist, a Polish woman born in New York. For the local inhabitants, the ongoing changes are puzzling and sometimes painful, which they express vocally in their assessments of the West. Due to the specifics of the fi lm language, proper names are studied in their contexts: in the dialogues between the characters and in the situations in which they find themselves. Occasionally, the interpretation of the onymes also requires a deeper look at the source (the film) from which they originated – as an audiovisual work (film editing, music, acting, visuals, colours, etc.).

Creative use of objects as signs in cinema: an analysis of Sergei Parajanov’s Hakob Hovnatanyan

The paper presents an analysis of Sergei Parajanov’s short film, Hakob Hovnatanyan (1967), and its significance as an example of poetic cinema within Soviet cinematography. Not only feature-length films of Parajanov, but also his short films hold an important place among his œuvre, as a multi-modal and multi-channel visualization of the past. Hakob Hovnatanyan is a prime example of poetic cinema in Soviet cinematography. A pioneer in this discourse in the Soviet Union was Andrei Tarkovsky with his film Andrei Rublev (1966). Examples of this discourse include the Parajanov’s films The Color of Pomegranates (orig. Nṙan gowynë, 1969), Arabesque on a Theme of Pirosmani (orig. Arabeskebi Pirosmanis temaze, 1985), and Etudes on Vrubel (orig. Etyudy on Vrubel, 1989), which was directed by Leonid Osyka (scriptwriter Parajanov). The paper explores Hakob Hovnatanyan as a converter of cultural memory and multimodal vehicle for the construction of the spirit of the city. While in the framework of the short film the city is presented in the open air, in the middle the interior, the everyday life, the hum of language, and the language of clothes and necklaces of Old Tbilisi, Georgia, are presented. The interior and spirit are presented not only on the visual level of paintings, carpets, and furniture (a dresser with a metronome) but also through auditory elements: sound, language, music, etc. Thus, through a multimodal visualization of the past Parajanov presents a new language of cinema (Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (orig. Tini zabutykh predkiv, 1965), The Color of Pomegranates, The Legend of Suram Fortress (orig. Ambavi suramis tsikhisa, 1985), Ashik Kerib (orig. Ashik’-keribi, 1988, first director Dodo Abashidze)).

Feature Film as a Literary Work

The relationships between feature film and literature are typically conceptualized from the perspective of film adaptations. Although numerous shared points between them are noticeable, typically feature films are not treated as literary works tout court.The paper focuses on the difference between the medium and literature, which allows us to look at any feature film as literature in the film medium. “Empirical media studies” (U. Saxer, W. Faulstich) provides the methodological foundation for the paper, and three representative examples are discussed. The first two are extremely different from each other: a feature film preceding a novel (Alien by R. Scott and Alien by A.D. Foster), and the opposite variant, i.e. a feature film based on a novel in the book medium (Barry Lyndon by S. Kubrick and The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon by W.M. Thackeray). The third example (Love Story by A. Hiller and Love Story by E. Segal) is intermediate: the feature film and the novel were released at the same time (Segal wrote the novel based on his ownscenario during the production of the film). The examples analyzed, together with theoretical considerations, show that it is not the so-called “language of film” that makes a film a work of art, but its “literary-logical continuum” (Faulstich), which supports the thesis that all literature is mediated, and that traditional considerations regarding film adaptation should include the issue of literary media to a greater extent.

Exploring the perception of English lecturers about incidental vocabulary learning and involvement load hypothesis in their classrooms

Despite extensive research on vocabulary acquisition, limited attention has been given to how these theories are applied in English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching practices, particularly in Indonesia. This qualitative case study addresses this gap by exploring English lecturers' perceptions and use of incidental vocabulary learning (IVL) and the involvement load hypothesis (ILH) in their classrooms. Data were collected through interviews and classroom observations with five English lecturers from universities in Malang, Indonesia, and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key patterns and themes. The findings revealed that all participants recognized the importance of vocabulary in language learning and preferred implicit learning methods, such as exposure to authentic language in literature and films. However, the integration of theoretical concepts like vocabulary size and frequency into teaching practices was limited due to constraints such as time and lack of dedicated vocabulary instruction. Moreover, participants were unfamiliar with the ILH, though some of its elements were present in their teaching. The study suggests that better dissemination of research and professional development is essential to bridge the gap between theory and practice, ultimately improving vocabulary instruction in EFL contexts.

Scene Deconstruction and Plot Setting of a Silent Film

This study dissects Chaplin's method of conveying a story through visuals in his 1921 silent movie, 'The Kid,' emphasizing scene analysis and plot introduction. A detailed discussion of sequences allows the research to illustrate how Chaplin makes meaning, creates a narrative, and establishes emotion solely through visual motion without words. The study uses several theoretical approaches, including film semiotics, narrative theory, and visual composition analysis. This paper examines how Chaplin employs framing, editing, mise-en-scène, and physical comedy to construct a highly symbolic and emotionally rich picture. Special emphasis should be placed on how Chaplin uses both comic and dramatic scenes hand in hand, sometimes even in the same scenes. Key sequences analyzed include the opening scene, which efficiently introduces the main character and presents the setting; the separation scene, an emotionally charged sequence of a man being left by his wife; and the dream sequence, a fantastic sequence in which Chaplin breaks the laws of practical reality to develop character psychology and depth of themes. The paper also explores how Chaplin develops visual motifs and employs repeated actions to unify the narrative and chart the character's growth. Moreover, it discusses how the film's visual analysis and symbolism respond to early twentieth-century social concerns such as poverty and the position of children. As such, this research is pertinent to exploring the silent film narrative and its legacy through analyzing Chaplin's visual strategies. 'The Kid' illustrates that this was the pinnacle of the silent film genre and how complex narrative and character development can be conveyed without using words. Moreover, this research reveals Chaplin's creative processes. It contributes to understanding the potential of visual narrative in Cinema, proving the significance of the silent film language in developing film language.

Myth and Cyber: A Study of the Narrative and Visual Language of Chinese Cyberpunk Anime Films

Abstract The cyberpunk genre started a new trend in Chinese anime movies after 2020, represented by the hugely commercially successful New Gods: Nezha Reborn (2021). Unlike Western cyberpunk, which focuses on portraying the future as a subcategory of science fiction, Chinese cyberpunk anime chooses to look back, fusing ancient myths with cyborgs, which is called myth-cyberpunk, reconstructing traditional Chinese culture, and broadening the boundaries of cyberpunk. This paper focuses on spatial construction and characterization in Chinese cyberpunk anime films. It traces the influence of Western cyberculture on Chinese animation and the uniqueness and local innovation of the Chinese side. Importantly, it examines the role of audience participation in the processes of cultural encoding and decoding, as proposed by Stuart Hall, to understand the dynamics behind the growing popularity of cyber animation in China. This paper aims to interpret the evolution of the cyberpunk style in Chinese animations, its reception, and its deeper societal motivations, offering insights into the unique allure of Chinese cyberpunk anime within the contemporary socio-cultural context.

О киносериале «Трудно быть мужчиной», его герое и некоторых особенностях японской культурной традиции (новая редакция)

This article is an attempt to analyze the content of the longest Japanese movie series “It’s Tough Being a Man”. The fifty-episode film, spanning over 50 years, was directed by the distinguished Japanese filmmaker Yoji Yamada, who also wrote the screenplay for the series. The article examines the circumstances of the film creation, its compositional, genre, and conceptual features, as well as its connection to Japan’s social history and the development of Japanese cinema. Characteristics of the main characters of the film are provided, the reasons for the popularity of the movie series are explored, along with its cinematic language and style, and its relationship with American cinema and Japanese artistic tradition. The image of Kuruma Torajiro (the main character of the film) is compared with the image of Superman in American movies, as well as with the images of the Russian fool (including fairy-tale characters), and with the character of Prince Myshkin from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel “The Idiot”. The author of this article concludes that Yoji Yamada’s work has become a significant cultural event of Japan in the last third of the 20th century and is still of great importance.

Behind the Script: Analyzing Figurative Language in "Free Guy"

This study underscores the importance of figurative language in film, particularly within a digitally-driven narrative like "Free Guy." It provides valuable insights into how linguistic creativity supports storytelling in contemporary cinema, enriching both the viewers' experience and the overall impact of the film. Using Barthes' theory of semiotics, which examines how meaning is constructed through signs and symbols, the study reveals that figurative language functions as a crucial signifying system in "Free Guy." Leech's theory of figurative language, which categorizes different types of figurative expressions, provides a framework for analyzing their specific functions in the film. This study identifies how metaphors, similes, hyperboles, personifications, and metonyms collectively enhance the storytelling process. The results of the study indicate that metaphor is the most dominant form of figurative language in "Free Guy," highlighting its significance in enhancing the narrative and thematic depth of the film. Similes and hyperboles also play crucial roles, particularly in character development and conveying humour. The presence of these figurative elements enriches the viewer's experience by providing additional layers of meaning, which strengthens emotional engagement and understanding of the story, while personifications and metonyms add vividness and relatability to the virtual world depicted in the movie. Furthermore, this study opens avenues for further exploration into the role of figurative language in different film genres and other forms of digital storytelling. Future research could examine how these linguistic tools influence viewer perception and emotional engagement across various cinematic contexts. Understanding the use of figurative language can reveal its power in shaping narratives, enhancing emotional engagement, and adding layers of meaning.

Moscow Palace of Pioneers in the Cinema: A History Frozen in Time

The Moscow Palace of Pioneers on the Vorobyovy Gory — an architectural monument of Soviet modernism, the most successful and recognizable building of the Thaw period — can be found in many Soviet and Russian films: “The Tale of Lost Time”, “Gimme the Book of Complaints”, “Moscow — Cassiopeia”, “The Way to the Concert”, “Afonya”, “Dangerous Age”, “Nina”, “Legend No. 17”, “Thaw”, “Lyudmila Gurchenko”, “The Optimists” and others. The article reviews filming locations of feature and documentary films, identifies the main locations of the director’s groups, parallels and comparisons of perspectives in cinema with contemporary reality. The reasons for the director’s choice of certain halls, auditoriums, and spaces are analyzed; changes in the role and functionality of the spaces are identified; and the connection with the plot is traced. It is shown how, thanks to the artistic language of cinema, the directors change the function of buildings and spaces: the seventh building becomes an airport, the winter garden becomes a billiard room, classrooms become editorial offices, the theatre hall becomes a meeting place for diplomats. Some films depict unique interiors of the Palace, panels and mosaics, while in other films the directors were interested in innovative objects and angles that were not clearly linked to the pioneer theme. Many of the reviewed films contain a pedagogical component: they teach to value time (The Tale of Lost Time), to dream (Moscow is My Love), to set high goals (Moscow — Cassiopeia), to keep one’s word (Thaw), to succeed (Legend No. 17, Lyudmila Gurchenko), to seek the right path in life (Afonya), to be a patriot (The Optimists). Documentary films about the Moscow Palace of Pioneers are a vivid example of successful organisation of the educational process. The article may be interesting and useful to researchers of the spheres of culture, cinema, art, history and education, residents and guests of the capital and everyone who is interested in the history of the Moscow Palace of Pioneers. The materials of the research are also of practical value and can be used by tour guides, teachers, methodologists and teachers.

Dreaming Fish, Becoming Fish: Animating Modern Mythology and Zhuangzian Philosophy in the Fantasy Film Big Fish & Begonia

Abstract This paper analyzes the 2016 Chinese animation film Big Fish & Begonia and its precursor, a 2004 Flash animated short video, in conjunction with Zhuangzi’s philosophy of becoming and transformation. It traces the origin of the film in the auteur’s dream experience and the development of cinematic language and animation technology from the initial short video to the full-feature film. Adopting a form closely associated with the fantastical and speculative traditions of Chinese mythology, Big Fish & Begonia represents animal becomings through the apparatus of the dream, as both crucial content and form, and the formal characteristics of animation. Both the dream and the animation forms allow the expression of desires to break through the ontological and epistemological constraints of the human subject and to render the physical form unstable. By engaging with key passages from Zhuangzi that discuss dreams, knowledge, “free and easy wandering,” and “becoming/transformation,” the paper asserts Zhuangzi’s continued influence in contemporary Chinese animation. The film offers new ways of conceptualizing and addressing modern environmental crises while aligning itself with the cultural–political agenda to create “authentic” Chinese stories.

Landscape discourse of the Northern villages in Contemporary Vietnamese films (in the case of ‘Bến không chồng’ of Luu Trong Ninh and ‘Cuộc đời của Yến’ of Dinh Tuan Vu)

Through analysing the cinematic language, this essay wants to find out if there is a stereotype in the representation of the Northern village landscape in the films Bến không chồng (Luu Trong Ninh) and Cuộc đời của Yến (Dinh Tuan Vu) or not. From there, this research will show that that stereotype expressed a sense of nostalgia for and created regimes of truth about the Northern village. The essay also studies the discourse overlapping in these two films about the same historical period, with the same theme about women’s misery. This writing will point out that despite filming about the same landscape, Bến không chồng presents a sad, gloomy landscape; on the contrary, Cuộc đời của Yến shows a beautiful but simple landscape like in a tourism promotional video. Then, the author will give her opinions on the reasons for that discourse overlapping.

DIRECT GAZE OF THE ACTOR TOWARDS THE CAMERA IN CINEMA IN THE CONTEXT OF IDENTIFICATION AND ALIENATION: A DISCUSSION ON THE FILMS “THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT” (2015) AND “FUNNY GAMES” (1997)

From its earliest days to the present, film language has evolved within various contexts, undergoing transformations and bringing forth diverse cinematic narrative possibilities in different forms and content. These narrative options predominantly exist within the classical Aristotelian structure, but with the adaptation of the Brechtian structure to cinema, they have also taken on different and alternative directions. This shift has resulted in various changes across screenplay, cinematography, acting, and other areas. The central issue of this study is built upon these differences, with a particular focus on the gaze in cinema. The primary aim is to analyze classical and contemporary narrative structures in the context of actors' direct gazes at the camera, interpreting the distinctions through Jaco Van Dormael's "The Brand New Testament" (2015) and Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" (1997). The study intends to address how actors' direct gazes in these two distinct films differ between classical and contemporary narrative structures, examining them under the lenses of identification and alienation respectively. In this context, the study concentrates on how these gazes differentiate within both narrative structures across the selected films.

On the Limits of Islamic Cinema: The Politics of Halal Cinema Discourse in Kerala, India

Some of the most crucial debates surrounding Islamic legitimacy and cinema rotate around the question of the permissible ( ḥalāl) and prohibited ( ḥarām) in Islamic law and how these function for Muslim theology and politics. Emerging from these debates, halal cinema has been one of the recent critical interventions in the field of Indian and Islamic cinema. Rather than making cinema Islamic from an ideological position, the new halal experiments with the visual language of cinema without compromising the popular dimensions of its viewership. This article looks at the politics of halal cinema within the context of the state of Kerala in South India and argues that the space of halal cinema shows the aspirations and negotiations of the Muslim community in Kerala. Halal cinema thus becomes an immanent critique of Islamic cinema by destabilizing the dominant practice that connects the relationship between Islam and cinema.

Gendered landscape in Vietnam: women and ancient capital landscape in The Moon at the Bottom of the Well

Landscape criticism enables multi-directional viewpoints about the space, context, and habitual environment of human beings, from which physical elements surrounding people are brought to the critical vision and attached to cultural, historical, political, religious, and social elements. This article, applying jointly landscape criticism and feminist criticism, studies the relationship between landscape and gender being presented in the movie Trăng nơi đáy giếng (The Moon at the Bottom of the Well) by director Nguyễn Vinh Sơn, adapted from the same-titled short story by writer Trần Thùy Mai. How does landscape participate to the construction and presentation of gender issues, especially of women’s fate? In other words, how do people use landscape to re-construct and maintain gender structure and order in the society? From this viewpoint, the landscape becomes a gender agent that conveys people’s notions and concepts of gender. The filmmakers also become agents who use cinematic language to re-construct landscape and present gender issues through their artistic view.

Call of the Earth: Ecocriticism Through the Non-Human Agency in M. Jenkin’s “Enys Men”

Abstract Based on the “vegetal turn” in film studies and posthuman philosophy, the article explores how experimental cinema can be a cultural mediator of vegetal forms of life. Posthumanist philosophy draws inspiration from cinema’s portrayal of both imaginary and real non-human entities as subjects and cohabitants on Earth. As subjects, these non-human entities are challenging generally accepted ideas about the principles of cognition, as well as our understanding of the causes and consequences of problems such as climate warming, Holocene extinction, and depletion of natural resources. The experimental film reveals connections between human and non-human agents through its unique film language and cinema ontology. The study examines how the film Enys Men (2022), directed by M. Jenkin, employs critical anthropomorphism to depict closely intertwined symbiotic relationships between all human and non-human agents, where memory as an embodied property connects various types of experience. In the film, access to awareness of the boundaries of life and death is challenged by non-human subjects such as lichens and Earth.