Shadows, Specters, Shards ─ Making History In Avant-Garde Film

Skoller (film, School of the Art Institute of Chicago) holds that experimental films, by and large, more accurately portray the subtle moments and contexts that make up history as well as simply do a better job of getting the facts straight. With Walter Benjamin and Gilles Deleuze amongst others as his inspiration, he explores a number of films from such luminaries as Antin, Eisenberg, Gehr, Godard, Katz and Ravett on such themes as allegory as historical perspective, the limits of representing history, film making as mourning work and history and the postcinema condition. Skoller's primary focus is narrative strategy and analyzes the films in terms of their allegory, side-showing, testimony and multiple temporalities. He provides a comprehensive bibliography as well as a filmography and notes on resources. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)