The Metaphysics of Violence The Maturity of a Film Genre in an Era of Relaxing Standards of Obscenity: Takashi Ishii's Freeze Me as a Rape-Revenge Film by James R. Alexander Understandably, the 'rape-revenge' scenario has been endlessly controversial, yet the cinema continues to replay it in different guises and contexts. This article charts the evolution of a genre, giving particular emphasis to the Japanese cinema's take on the theme. “Snuffing” Hollywood: Transmedia Horror in Tesis by Vicente Rodriguez-Ortega Spanish director Alejandro Amen·bar's 1996 feature seems more prescient than ever in its examination of media culture's fascination with 'snuff' imagery. On the Nature of Dogs, the Right of Grace, Forgiveness and Hospitality: Derrida, Kant, and Lars Von Trier's Dogville by Adam Atkinson For all the discussion of Von Trier's 'abstract' drama in commentaries on Dogville it has often been overlooked that the film is grounded in precise philosophic ideas. Sublime Anarchy in Gus Van Sant's Elephant by Neera Scott Gus Van Sant's film produces a kind of poetry from the most unlikely of events, the Columbine shootings. Drawing on ideas from Antonin Artaud and Slavoj Zizek, Neera Scott demonstrates how the film 'wrests something from disaster'.

Conversations with Filmmakers ìWhy Not Have Our Own World?î: Interview with Andrzej Wajda by Renata Murawska In this wide-ranging interview the revered elder statesman of Polish cinema chronicles the fate of his nation's cinema over the course of his country's transition from communism to capitalism. Empty Pockets: Robert Connolly Interviewed on Three Dollars by Jonathan Dawson Australian director Robert Connolly discusses his adaptation of Elliot Perlman's novel about the souring of the Australian dream in an age of economic rationalism. Don't Forget Him When He's Cool: An Interview with Song Il-gon by James Brown South Korean cinema continues to consolidate its international profile, and Song Il-gon is one of its distinctive voices. He talks about his films and career to date. Fires Were Started: An Interview with Noam Gonick by Ioannis Mookas Like fellow Canadian Guy Maddin, Gonick hails from Winnipeg, the city at the heart of Stryker, his visually arresting feature film shot by noted cinematographer Ed Lachman. That and much else about this distinctive film are discussed in depth. Lisandro Alonso, Mostly in His Own Words by Gabe Klinger A key figure of the new Argentine cinema and director of Los Muertos talks about various aspects of his filmmaking craft.

Experimental Cinema James Benning's Art of Landscape: Ontological, Pedagogical, Sacrilegious by Michael J. Anderson Benning's 13 Lakes is discussed in the light of AndrÈ Bazin's concept of the ontology of the image and its frame. Being Michael Brynntrup by Maximilian Le Cain German filmmaker Michael Brynntrup is the subject of his films. Le Cain dissects Brynntrup's self-portrait magnum opus E.C.G. Expositus: The Broadcast and the Artistic Media. Alchemical Transformations: The Abstract Films of Harry Smith by Jamie Sexton The career of a key figure of the American avant-garde is discussed in depth. Fetish, Filth and Childhood: Walking down The Street of Crocodiles by Sarah Scott The Quay Brothers' seminal film as seen through the lens of Walter Benjamin's ideas.

Hitchcock's Trailers Alfred Hitchcock's Trailers by Alain Kerzoncuf and N·ndor Bokor Part Two of a unique research piece that documents and transcribes the contents of many, though now, rarely seen trailers to Hitchcock's features. A valuable document for Hitchcock scholars and film historians.

Features Dreams for Australian Cinema by Bill Mousoulis What ails thee? A perennial question asked of Australian cinema. Independent filmmaker Bill Mousoulis submits his diagnosis. The Hither Side of Solutions: Bodies and Landscape in L'intrus by R. Emmet Sweeney Claire Denis' most recent feature was inspired by a brief essay by French philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy. This article discusses the connections between Nancy's ideas and Denis' Êsthetic visualisation. White Melodrama: Douglas Sirk by Tag Gallagher An insightful reappraisal of the Êsthetics of the great Hollywood director. Walerian Borowczyk's Heroines of Desire by Scott Murray A timely essay that reconsiders the career of Walerian Borowcyzk, particularly in relation to his depiction of female sexuality and desire. The Resolute ∆sthetic: Bresson's Lancelot du Lac by Alex Lipschultz Succinct notes on cinema's most succinct filmmaker. An elegant essay on Robert Bresson's sublime tale on the Knights of the Round Table. 3rd World Hero: Rizal and Colonial Clerical Power Through the Lens of Philippine Third Cinema by Antonio D. Sison An essay that examines the use of revered national hero Jose P. Rizal in Philippine cinema.

Festival Reports The Cannes Files: (some para-text to Cannes 2005): Cannes International Film Festival by Paolo Bertolin Hustle with Speed: The 29th Hong Kong International Film Festival by Charles Leary Easy on the Relish: Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival 2005 by Brandon Wee Dead End Kids: The 16th Human Rights Watch International Film Festival by Ioannis Mookas Blinking by the Bosphorus: Discoveries at the 24th International Istanbul Film Festival by Bilge Ebiri Video as a Subversive Art: The 48th San Francisco International Film Festival by Brian Darr The Search for Space in Singapore: A Review of the 18th Singapore International Film Festival by Benjamin McKay Lakes in Lower Manhattan: The 4th Annual Tribeca Film Festival by Jared Rapfogel

Book Reviews Forms of Being: Cinema, Aesthetics, Subjectivity by Leo Bersani and Ulysse Dutoit feature review by Bill Schaffer A Line of Sight: American Avant-Garde Film Since 1965 by Paul Arthur review by Brian Frye Chasing the Runaways: Foreign Film Production and Film Studio Development in Australia 1988-2002 by Nick Herd review by Ben Goldsmith The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp review by Christian McCrea Coming up for Air: Andy Warhol's Blow Job by Roy Grundmann review by Cheryl-Anne Panlilio Polish Film: A Twentieth Century History by Charles Ford and Robert Hammond, with additional material by Grazyna Kudy review by Alan Pavelin History Films, Women, and Freud's Uncanny by Susan E. Linville review by Polona Petek You can order these books directly from

Also new this issue 5 profiles have been added to the Great Directors critical database: Henri-Georges Clouzot • Richard Franklin • Alfred Hitchcock • Tomu Uchida • Michael Winterbottom 30 annotations have been added to the Cinémathèque Annotations on Film section: Abroad with Two Yanks • Besieged • Daybreak Express • Dirk de Bruyn • Decision at Sundown • Europa Europa • Force of Evil • Hanussen • Hell's Hinges • The Lady from Shanghai • Prima della rivoluzione • The Rose Garden Kenji Mizoguchi: “Re-viewing Mizoguchi” • Empress Yang Kwei Fei • Osaka Elegy • Shin Heike Monogatari • The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums • Ugetsu Monogatari Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger: Age of Consent • An Airman's Letter to His Mother • A Canterbury Tale • Contraband • The Edge of the World • Gone to Earth • I Know Where I'm Going! • Oh Rosalinda!! and The Boy Who Turned Yellow • Peeping Tom • The Red Shoes • The Small Back Room • They're a Weird Mob 12 new lists and 3 revised lists have been added to the Top Tens section.