MLR, I03.3, 2008 875 the Italian language inCameroon (Valerie Kouam), and the status of the teaching of Italian in theNetherlands (Maria Carmela D'Angelo), whereas on theLatin Ameri can front,Bob de Jongehighlights points of contact and reciprocal influences between Italian and Spanish inArgentina and Uruguay. As faras francophone Canada is con cerned, Stefania Cubeddu shows the inter-and transcultural liveliness of themulti lingual journal Viceversa, and Daniele Issa-Sayegh looks at theconcept of identity in Italo-Canadian Marco Micone's works.Walter Zidaric himself closes thiscollection of papers by discussing French composer and librettistPascal Dusapin's choice towrite an opera based on II codice di Perela by Palazzeschi (Milan: Edizioni futuriste, i 9 I i) in itsoriginal language (Perela, Uomo difumo, Opera national de Paris, 2002-03). This volume occupies a significant place among the critical studies most recently dedicated to Italian immigrantwriting which are increasingly focused on an analytical investigation of literary forms (Boelhower), on individual texts or authors and their poetics (Sinopoli, Wright, Lecomte and Stella, Taddeo), and on language (Vedovelli, Menna). Itmakes a valuable contribution towards a redefinitionof terminology itself, and urges-along with Armando Gnisci, whose Nuovo planetario italiano is reviewed in this issue of MLR-the distinction between migrantwriters and migrants whowrite texts of,potentially, long-term impact on Italian culture and society. UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD LUISA CARRER Spanish Cinema: A Student's Guide. By BARRY JORDANand MARK ALLINSON. Lon don: Hodder Arnold. 2005. vi+ 229 pp. ISBN 987-0-340-80745-3. Of the growing number of publications on Spanish film,Barry Jordan and Mark Allinson's book will be a firmfavourite among students. This isbecause itdoes what the titlepromises: guides the student around the history, debates, criticism, theory, and-most importantly-some of the filmsof thisnational cinema. Spanish Cinema: A Student's Guide is sensitive throughout to students' needs and is an ideal introduc tion forundergraduates, both thosewith a Spanish Studies background new to the discipline of film,and those fromFilm Studies new toSpanish culture. Chapter i offers a succinct history that guides the reader through such areas as the consequences of state intervention in the industryunder Republican, Francoist, and democratic eras. This survey has something of a dual conclusion: first,Spanish cinema's recent internationalization (for instancewith Abre losojos (Amenabar, 1997): pp. 32-33); and, second, itscurrent politicization in response toBasque and Islamic terrorism (for example, La pelota vasca (Medem, 2003): pp. 33-34). The authors are careful to place 'Film Studies' next, inChapter 2, and leave 'Representation' issues toChapter 6, in linewith theircorrect observation that 'The focus on representations [. . .] has frequently relegated the study of how filmswork to a level of secondary importance' (p. 35). Consequently, this isone of thebook's most innovative chapters, with case studies of six pairs of filmsunder the headings ofMise-en-scene, Cine matography, Sound (though only one film is covered here), Editing, Narrative, and Style, thatofferengaging and reader-friendly analyses. Students overwhelmed by the wealth of criticism on, say,Un chien andalou (Bufnuel, I929) will find an accessible and thoughtful introduction thatplaces it in the familiar frame of reference of film editing, rather than a possibly unfamiliar one, such as Surrealism. Chapter 3 turns to thewell-trodden terrain of auteurism, though Jordan and Allinson are careful to include material on fresher concerns such asmarketing and production. In Chapter 4, 'Genre', the reader findsnot only the expected review of hybridity incontemporary film,but also awelcome discussion ofManolo Escobar in relation to themusical film, where thework of female performers ismore commonly 876 Reviews analysed. Further connections between the theoretical section on genre and the case studies adduced would have been appreciated in this chapter too. Chapter 5, on stars, also covers more (Carmen Maura) and less (Alfredo Landa) familiar figures forstudents who tend to focus on post-Franco film.Chapter 6, 'Re presentation', displays theauthors' experience of researching and teaching these areas with readable and sharp analyses of commonly studied films.Perhaps of less interest to undergraduates focusing on individual films isChapter 7, a survey ofwriting on film inSpain in specialist journals. This isdetailed in coverage and deft in treatment; not all specialists in audiovisual media can write so well on theunique literary form of...