Emmanuel Levinas’s ethical philosophy has had a significant influence on film theory in recent years. Proposing a relationship between Levinasian ethics and film style, and bringing it into a productive dialogue with theories of performativity, this book explores this influence through three directorial bodies of work: those of the Dardenne Brothers, Barbet Schroeder and Paul Schrader.
Discussing a range of films – including the Dardennes’
Le Fils
and
The Kid with a Bike
, Schroeder’s
Maîtresse
Reversal of Fortune
and Schrader’s
American Gigolo
The Comfort of Strangers
– Edward Lamberti demonstrates how film styles can perform a Levinasian ethics.