Broken Film: “Crux interpretum” as a Problem of the Theory and Practice of Interpretation (on the Example of Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona”)
Rafał Koschany
koschany@amu.edu.plAdam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9343-9885
Abstract
Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (1966) is considered one of the most mysterious and multidimensional films of all time, which was undoubtedly influenced by the famous moment of tearing and burning of the film reel. Is that moment inherent in the story or external to it? Is it a sign given by the director, narrator, or some other instance? These are just a few examples of questions asked by the interpreters, who then often give detailed, exhaustive, and logical answers, but also report difficulties in formulating them. The paper presents not only the existing interpretations, but above all the theoretically important problem of interpretation which has no chance to be satisfactorily resolved. Crux interpretum is an uninterpretable place in the text, and at the same time a trigger for the theory of interpretation in general.
Keywords:
Ingmar Bergman, interpretation, theory of interpretation, film theoryReferences
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Authors
Rafał Koschanykoschany@amu.edu.pl
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9343-9885
Associate Professor at the Institute of Cultural Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. He specializes in the theory of interpretation, contemporary theories of the interpretation of works of art, the semiotics of culture, as well as research at the crossroads between literary and film studies. Author of the books Przypadek. Kategoria artystyczna i egzystencjalna w literaturze i filmie [Chance: Existential and Artistic Category in Film and Literature] (2006, 2nd ed. 2016) and Zamiast interpretacji. Między doświadczeniem kinematograficznym a rozumieniem filmu [Instead of Interpretation: Between Cinematographic Experience and Understanding of Film] (2017), numerous articles in journals and chapters in books; co-editor of several collective volumes, among others: Musical. Poszerzanie pola gatunku [The Musical: Widening the Genre Field] (2013).
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