Existentialism and Contemporary Cinema

At the heart of this volume is the assertion that Sartrean existentialism, most prominent in the 1940s, particularly in France, is still relevant as a way of interpreting the world today. Film, by reflecting philosophical concerns in the actions and choices of characters, continues and extends a tradition in which art exemplifies the understanding of existentialist philosophy. In a scholarly yet accessible style, the contributors exploit the rich interplay between Sartre's philosophy, plays and novels, and a number of contemporary films including No Country for Old Men, Lost in Translation and The Truman Show, with film-makers including the Dardenne brothers, Michael Haneke, and Mike Leigh. This volume will be of interest to students who are coming to Sartre's work for the first time and to those who would like to read films within an existentialist perspective.

"[This volume] will provide a useful tool, in particular for students seeking to learn about Sartre and existentialism but also or students exploring the application of philosophy to the understanding of cinema." - Douglas Morrey, University of Warwick

Jean-Pierre Boule is Professor of Contemporary French Studies at Nottingham Trent University and the author of a number of books, notably on Sartre, including Sartre mediatique (1992) and Sartre, Self-Formation and Masculinities (2005). He is the co-founder of the U.K. Sartre Society and executive editor of Sartre Studies International. He is coediting with Benedict O'Donohoe, Jean-Paul Sartre: Mind and Body, Word and Deed (2011) and preparing with Ursula Tidd a companion volume, Existentialism and Contemporary Cinema. A Beauvoirian Perspective (2013).

Enda McCaffrey is Reader in French at Nottingham Trent University. He is the author of a number of books including The Gay Republic: Sexuality, Citizenship and Subversion in France (2005) and The Return of Religion in France: From Democratisation to Postmetaphysics (2009). He is working on a new monograph called A Postmodern Ethics of Crisis: A French Perspective.