Joaquim da Silva Fontes, Significação e Estabilidade do Género no ...

victorieusement le cap périlleux du chiffre trois, tout film prend sa place dans mon
musée privé, très fermé. 63 (Truffaut 1955:45)
This notion of the film auteur only gradually started to be adopted in the pages of
the Cahiers. It evolved in a rather random manner, and this resulted in a theory that can be
interpreted and applied in broad terms, and various critics analysed (different) methods
within a fluid structure of similar attitudes. This fluidity and prolixity of the theory gave
rise to misunderstandings and misinterpretations, especially between the British and the
American critics. Issue 31 of the Cahiers presents a fine article written again by Truffaut
on the subject of Fritz Lang and his 1953 noir production, The Big Heat. The article is
called “Love Fritz Lang”, and the French cineaste refers to the way the filmmaker manages
to suffuse filming techniques with so much passion. The conclusion of the article shows
the beginnings of a genuine “politique”:
Tout ceci ne donne-t-il pas à penser que Fritz Lang pourrait être un véritable auteur
de films, et que si ses thèmes, son histoire empruntent, pour venir jusqu'à nous,
l'apparence banale d'un thriller de série, d'un film de genre ou de western, il faut
peut-être voir là le signe d'une grande probité d'un cinéma qui n'éprouve pas la
nécessité de se parer d'étiquettes alléchantes? Il faut aimer Fritz Lang. 64 (Truffaut
1954:32)
The “attractive labels” that Truffaut mentions above are a clear reference to the
decoding process or operation that this theory requires. The “politique des Auteurs” does
not to confine itself simply to the acclamation of a film director as the major author of a
film. It actually reveals authors that were never considered as such before. For many years,
the model of a cinema auteur that was commonly acknowledged was that of the European
director, an artist of strong aspirations who had a full control over his works. This model to
a great extent still survives nowadays, based on the clear distinction between art films and
more popular productions. Many filmmakers who had previously gained a solid reputation
in Europe were then rejected or left to anonymity once they crossed the Atlantic. This was
63 When I first watched Ali Baba, I was disappointed; the second time, I was upset; and the third, I was
fascinated and delighted. I might undoubtedly watch it again but I fully know that once I cross the cape of
number three victoriously, any film goes into my private and intimate museum. (my translation)
64 Doesn’t it all make us believe that Fritz Lang could be a real author of films, and that if his themes, his
history, take the appearance of a banal thriller series, a film genre or a Western, so as to come to us, one
should perhaps see it as a sign of the great probity of a cinema that does not need to bear attractive labels?
One has to love Fritz Lang. (my translation)
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