There is no such thing as one realism: systematising André Bazin’s film theory

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, film scholarship has experienced a renewed interest in the theory of André Bazin. This French film critic is most commonly quoted regarding the ontological basis of realism, prompting some highly varied – and sometimes unexpected – readings of his most renowned essay, ‘The Ontology of the Photographic Image’. Of course, it is no mere accident that he chose this ontological study as the opening text for Qu’est-ce que le cinéma? However, as I will argue, what Bazin classified as ‘true realism’ relates to aesthetics and encompasses different elements present in film: (1) the ontology of the image; (2) the style of film language; and (3) the veritative level (aesthetic truth or ‘deep meaning’). The aim of this paper is to provide a definition of these three levels of realism. Special attention will be given to the third and least explored of the three, the veritative, which, as this level has hitherto received little scholarly attention, constitutes the most original contribution of this article to studies of Bazinian theory.