Publisher's Synopsis
In the opening chapter of this groundbreaking work, Bruce Kawin asks: can a film-which is already the dream of its maker and its audience, and which can present itself as the dream of one of its characters-appear, finally, to dream itself? Contrary to the classic assumption that all film narration is third person, the author contends that a movie can be narrated in first person through a consciousness that originates either on screen or off. Through a discussion of Keaton, Welles, Resnais, Bergman, Godard, and even Chuck Jones, Kawin shows how the self-reflexivity of film stimulates the aesthetic, political, and psychological processes of the audience, making possible a greater knowledge and acceptance of ourselves.
