Playing the waves : Lars Von Trier's game cinema / Jan Simons

2007·10.7 MB·English

by  Simons, Jan

PlayingtheWaves
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Playing the Waves
LarsvonTrier'sGameCinema
JanSimons
Amsterdam University Press
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ThepublicationofthisbookismadepossiblebyagrantfromTheNetherlands
OrganisationforScientificResearch(NWO).
Frontcoverillustrationfrom:thefiveobstructions/defembensp^end,
JorgenLeth,Denmark2003
Photo:DanHolmberg;courtesyofZentropa
Coverdesign:KokKorpershoek,Amsterdam
Lay-out:japes,Amsterdam
Translation:RalphdeRijke
ISBN 9789053569917(paperback)
ISBN 9789053569795(hardcover)
NUR 674
©JanSimons/AmsterdamUniversityPress,2007
Allrightsreserved.Withoutlimitingtherightsundercopyrightreservedabove,
nopartofthisbookmaybereproduced,storedinorintroducedintoaretrieval
system,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans(electronic,mechanical,
photocopying,recordingorotherwise)withoutthewrittenpermissionofboth
thecopyrightownerandtheauthorofthebook.
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Table of contents
Introduction 7
1 ManifestoandModernism 11
TheManifestoasapostmodernparody 11
TheManifestotakenseriously 12
TheManifestoandmodernism 16
From'essence'togame 20
TheManifesto:Reiterationanddifference 26
2 TheNameofthisGameisDogma95 33
Filmmakingasagame 33
Filmandformalism:Theparametricfilm 34
Aestheticsanddramaturgy 36
Filming:storyasreconstructionandasrepresentation 39
Enterthematrix:Game,simulation,rulesandart 43
Complexart:Psykomobile#1:TheWorldClock 46
'ThereissomethingdigitalinthestateofDenmark' 50
3 FilmingtheGame 53
Therulesofthegame 53
Thegameoffilming,andfilmsaboutgames 56
Idioterne(1) 62
Idioterne(2) 71
4 VirtualExplorations:JourneystotheEndoftheNight 79
RulesandManifestos 79
Virtualexplorations:TheEuropatrilogy 84
Virtualworlds 84
Virtualfilm 93
5 TheLeaderoftheGame 105
Manyfilms,onegame 105
The'vonTrier'gameworlds 106
Nuancesandsubtleties 121
6 BetweenCinemaandComputer 125
Filmingthevirtual 123
Spiritualityandvirtuality 126
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6 PlayingtheWaves
Registrationsofsimulations 129
Virtuality 133
Virtualrealism 142
Thevieweraslurker 147
TheVonTriersystem'revisited 152
7 BetweenHollywoodandCopenhagen 133
Dogma,filmandgaming 133
EntertheMatrix:VirtualHollywood 139
TheMatriximloaded:Virtualrealism 164
Dogma95:NouvelleVagueII? 167
BetweennewHollywoodandoldEurope 173
Today'sHollywood,today'sEurope 175
8 TheNameoftheGame:PunishorPerish 179
Cinematicgames:Gamesormovies? 179
Gametheoryandgamesstudies 180
Narrativeandgametheory 183
Punishorperish;exploitorbeexploited 188
Storiesandgamesreconsidered:Probabilitiesandtragicendings 197
Endgame 199
Notes 203
Bibliography 223
IndexofNames 237
IndexofFilmTitles 243
indexofSubjects 247
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Introduction
IttooklongertogetthisbookpublishedthanittookLarsvonTriertoproduce
andreleaseManderlayand,bythetimethisbookwillbepublished.TheBoss
OFITAllandWasington(sic).Thisdifferenceinpacebetweenthetwomedia
is, ofcourse, to the disadvantage ofthe slowermedium ofprint, which can
hardlykeeppacewiththemuchfasteraudiovisualmedia.However,asformer
soccerplayerand coachJohanCruijffalwayssays, 'Witheverydisadvantage
comesanadvantage'.Thetimeittooktogetthemanuscriptpublishedprovided
theopportunitytoincludeafinalchapteronManderlayinthisbook.Though
thisfilmdidnotraiseanynewissuessinceDogville,itconfirmedthemajor
claimofthisbookthatvonTrier'smovies arebestapproachedascinematic
games.Whereastheprecedingchaptersdealtwiththestylistic,structuraland
formalaspectsofvonTrier'sfilms,Manderlayofferedtheopportunitytosee
whethertheclaimthatvonTrier'sfilmsareacinematicversionofcontempo-
rarycomputergamescanbesubstantiatedbyatheoreticalgameanalysisofthe
contentofthestoriesofhisfilms.
Thisbookgrewoutofacertaindissatisfactionwiththereceptionandinter-
pretationoftheDogme95movementaseitheracalltorealismorasaresuscita-
tionofthemodernistfilmmovementsfromthe1960s.Itseemshardtobelieve
thatin1995,inthemidstofpostmodernismandatapointinhistorywhencin-
emawasalreadyrapidlymovingintothedigitalage,afilmmakerassophisti-
cated, knowledgeableand provocativeasLarsvonTriercould seriouslypro-
posereturningtotheaestheticsandpoliticsofItalianneo-realismandNouvelle
Vaguemodernism.Afterall,theexhaustionoftheEuropeanauteurandartcin-
emawasgenerallyconsideredtobeamajorcauseforthedeclineofEuropean
cinema.ThelabelsDogme93founditselfadornedwith,'neo-Bazinianrealism',
'DVD-realism',or'prescriptionforlow-budgetfilmmaking'didnotseemvery
appropriateforamanifestothatshunnedeveryreferencetocontentandsubject
matter,andfilmmakerswhoproducedmovieslikeTheCelebration(Festen)
andTheIdiots,whichwereneitherrealistnorlowbudget.
Theselabelsseemedtoreflectthelimitsofclassicalfilmtheoryandwhatis
nowadayscalled'criticaltheory'aswellasacertainignoranceofvonTrier's
earliermoviesandproductionpractices.TheDogme95Manifestoisonlyone
ofthemanymanifestosthataccompaniedvonTrier'sfilms.Mostoftheseman-
ifestosdidnotaddressthethemesorproblemsthefilmsdealtwith,butdefined
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8 PlayingtheWaves
the constraints vonTrier set for himself with each film production. As the
authorofthesemanifestosand'productionnotes'vonTriertookonthesame
rolewithregardtohimselfasthefilmmakervonTrierashedidwithregardto
thefilmmakerj0rgenLethinthefilmTheFiveObstructions:heactedasthe
masterandthearbiterofthegame.
Asthisbookargues,invonTrier'searlierfilms,inhisDogme95filmThe
IdiotsandinthefilmshemadeafterDogme95,vonTrierplayswithanew
cinematicconceptthatistooradicallyinnovativeforclassical,contemporaryor
criticalfilmtheorytograsp.Ratherthanbeingacontinuationorresuscitationof
the political, stylistic and thematic concerns of earlier film movements, von
Trier'scinemaisfirmlybasedinanemergentnewmediacultureofvirtualrea-
litiesand,evenmoreimportantly,games.Thebookconsequentlytakesaper-
spectivefromtheaestheticsofnewmedia,gamesstudies,andgametheoryto
cometotermswithvonTrier'scinematicgamesappropriately.Thismightcome
as a surprise sincevonTrierhasrepeatedlystated his aversiontotheuse of
computer-generatedimagesanddigitalspecialeffectsincinema.Asthisbook
willtrytoshow,thisdoesnotmeanthatvonTrierbelievesthatcinemashould
captureandrepresenta'pure'andnon-manipulatedreal.Instead,ifvonTrier
canbecalleda'neo-Bazinian'filmmakeratall, itisbecause,inhisview,the
virtualisnota'specialeffect'oratechnologicalartefact,butbecausethevirtual
andtherealincludeandpresupposeeachother, and cinemais themedium
mostsuitedforcapturingthevirtualintherealortherealaspartofthevirtual.
WithoutthereligiousimdertonesofanAndreBazin, andas afilmmakerof
'CinemainitsSecondCentury'(astheconferencewascalledwherehefirstan-
nouncedtheDogme95Manifesto),vonTrierisclosertoDeleuzethantothe
'godfather'oftwentiethcenturyfilmrealism.
VonTrierwasalreadyexperimentingwithaspectsofthe aestheticsofnew
mediaandvideogamesbefore'thedigitalrevolution'actuallytookplaceand
newmediagenresandformatswerestillintheirinfancy. VonTrier'scinema
representsaninterestingexampleofwhatonemightcall'synchronousremedia-
tion',or,inashortcutneologism,'symmediation',aprocessinwhichonemed-
iumincorporates anddevelops featuresofanothernew mediumatthe same
timethelatteriscomingintobeingandstilllookingforitsowndistinguishing
characteristics, genres, and formats. Thesefeatures arevirtualrealities inhis
pre-Dogmefilms,modellingandsimulationinhisDogmefilm,virtualrealism
anddistributedrepresentationinhispost-Dogmefilms(someofwhich,surpris-
inglyenough,sharetechniqueswithHollywoodblockbusterslikeTheMatrix,
but use them for opposite ends). The overarching principle and common
groundinallofhisfilmsisgaming:VonTrierdefinesthepracticeoffilmmak-
ingasagame,heperformsthefoundingofafilmmovementasagame,he
builds the story worlds ofhis films as game envirorunents, he models film
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Introduction 9
sceneslikesimulationplays,andhetreatsstoriesasreiterationsofalwaysthe
samegame (whichwentunnoticedbyfilmtheoristsandcritics,butwhichis
quitefamiliartogametheorists).
Themostimportantpointthisbookwantstomakeisthat, contrarytoan
oftenheardpost-modemmaximthatstatesthat'everythinghasalreadybeen
done' intheartsingeneral and filminparticularand thatartistsandfilm-
makerscanonlyrecyclebitsandpiecesfromthepast,therearestillfilmmakers
capableoflaunchingagenuine'newwave'infilmmaking.Allittakesisanew
perspectivetobeabletoseethat.
Newperspectivesalwaysneedtobesharpened, adjustedandfine-tuned.I
ammuchobligedtomycolleaguesattheNWO-fundedresearchgroup'Digital
Games' fordiscussingchapterdraftsfromthebook, alsomyDepartmentfor
MediaStudiescolleaguesandstudentsattheUniversityofAmsterdamfortheir
patience and comments in seminars and lectures and Thomas Elsaesser for
makingtheEnglishlanguagepublicationofthisbookpossible.
Amsterdam,March2006
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