Rushton, Richard (2014) Empathic projection in the films of the Dardenne brothers. Screen, 55 (3). pp. 303-316. ISSN 0036-9543
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Abstract
The analysis of cinematic style in the films of the Dardenne brothers has primarily focused on the combination of realism and ethics. This paper instead focuses on the combination of realist and modernist styles in certain aspects of the Dardennes’ films. The emphasis is on two particular stylistic traits: first, the use of a medium distance two-shot, and second, the use of a back-and-forth handheld camera movement used typically in conversation scenes. These techniques are taken up in relation to what philosopher Stanley Cavell has called ‘empathic projection’, a term recently used by art historian Michael Fried in relation to art and cinema. It is the combination of realist and modernist styles that gives rise to the spectator's projection of empathic feeling onto or into characters in the films of the Dardenne brothers.