The Utopia of Film: Cinema and Its Futures Godard, Kluge, Tahimik

The German filmmaker Alexander Kluge has long promoted cinema's relationship with the goals of human emancipation. Jean-Luc Godard and Filipino director Kidlat Tahimik also believe in cinema's ability to bring about what Theodor W. Adorno once called a "redeemed world." Situating the films of Godard, Tahimik, and Kluge within debates over social revolution, utopian ideals, and the unrealized potential of utopian thought and action, Christopher Pavsek showcases the strengths, weaknesses, and undeniable impact of their utopian visions on film's political evolution. He discusses Godard's (1965) against (1991) and (1994), and he conducts the first scholarly reading of (2010). He considers Tahimik's virtually unknown masterpiece, (1981–1991), along with (1977) and (1983); and he constructs a dialogue between Kluge's (1961) and (1965) and his later (1985) and (2009).