Looking two ways

In this remarkable tour de force through fiction and documentary film-making, Toni de Bromhead challenges the traditional distinction between documentary and fiction, claiming that perceiving the distinction as an opposition between reality and fantasy no longer seems useful.

Looking at the style and purpose of a large number of films from various sub-genres, de Bromhead argues that in terms of narrative, emotional power, discourse/knowledge, experience for the spectator, moral implications, and ‘film reading’, the documentary genre may provide the viewer with just as much filmic satisfaction - if not ´filmic pleasure´ - as many fiction films do.

Among the many films discussed are such classics as Nanook of the North, Chronique d’un eté, Drifters, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and Song of Ceylon.