The forest as a space of filmic challenges

Abstract

Th e image of the forest or of the woods is deeply implanted in the spiritual life, becoming for centuries a maternal symbol of our people. In most folk tales, the main characters, on their way to becoming, wander through a thick and dark forest, or the forest itself is the destination point, where the dramatic denouement, an unpredictable meeting or a love idyll will take place. A possible classifi cation of the forest motif in cinematographic art is proposed from the perspective of various artistic functions.Th e works of the researcher-folklorist Vladimir Propp on the structure of folk tales point directly to the image of the forest as an inevitable space for the unfolding of the action. We fi nd this space of transformations especially in the screening or interpretation of cult stories/fairy tales. We will elucidate this space, represented in various interpretations through the cinematic language. Our interest extends to fi lms, which represent the interpretation of faity tales in European cinema. A separate chapter will be dedicated to fi lms-tales, where the image of the forest is one full of mysteries, populated by the most diverse, equally mysterious characters, whose contact with human characters oft en constitutes the dramaturgical axis of the fi lm.