Records of Material Objects in the Cinema #7, or: How to Make An American Thriller in Europe

Written by Daniel Kasman

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Strange, how objects travel between films, across times, spaces and fictions. Here: An Econolite train motion lamp, with "General" engine. Apparently a prerequisite for European auteurs making post-modern, American-style Hitchcock pastiches. A way to simultaneously signify an intimate, cozy family atmosphere, fold contemporary-seeming references to American cinema further back to pre-cinema optical illusions, and, most movingly, take on a kind of parental cinephilia, directors not just referencing movies but creating family spaces imbued fictionally and meta-fictionally with a love for cinema, passing it down to children.

From François Truffaut's The Bride Wore Black (1968), featuring Jeanne Moreau and Christophe Bruno; cinematography by Raoul Coutard.

From Wim Wender's The American Friend (1977), featuring Bruno Ganz and Andreas Dedecke; cinematography by Robby Müller.

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  • Adrian Curry

    I haven’t seen The American Friend for almost twenty years and though I remember it very fondly one of the only concrete things I could remember about it was that lamp.

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