Turbulence and Flow in Film: The Rhythmic Design

by Yvette Biro

Little attention has been paid to the temporal aspect of filmmaking. Turbulence and Flow in Film describes how pace and rhythm create meaning and how film gains its fullness through the flow of images and the speed or slowness of the dramatic action. It demonstrates that the quick or restrained breathing of the sequences is not a secondary element but rather provides the spirit and ambiance of the work.

Yvette Biro thoroughly analyzes this overlooked subject, examining various methods of temporal articulation. Relying on the richness of both classical and contemporary cinema, the author revisits the great masters such as Bresson, Ozu, Tarkovsky, Bergman, and Antonioni, as well as the directors of the Nouvelle Vague. In addition to discovering the new contributions of Asian cinema, she also discusses newcomers, including Jarmusch, Kaurismaki, and Kiarostami.

Genres: Film

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2008

Reviews

[Steen Ledet · Rating 3 out of 5]

If one must deal with narrative, certainly Biro’s emphasis on rhythm is one of the better approaches. Insightful book on how narrative is woven from cinematic materials and the significance of the emergent rhythm. One of her final paragraphs expresses her insights better than anything I can say:

“The essence of film drama is not the employment of some mechanistic structure but a complex, heterogeneous, shifting structure that attempts to track the complexities of the human experience.”