ABSTRACT

The term ‘poetic cinema’ is common in Russo-Soviet critical discourse, but has meant different things at different times. This article demonstrates how ‘poetic cinema’ has two overlapping, but nonetheless distinct meanings: on the one hand, according to Russian Formalism, the term ‘poetic’ connotes a defining feature specific to art; on the other hand, it implies an expressive mode characterised by elevation from a concrete reality and commonly ascribed to poetry. The meaning of ‘poetic’ oscillated between the ‘formalist’ and ‘elevated’ senses over the course of Soviet history, whilst the latter meaning has been adapted in varying historical conditions. The article explores these changing meanings of ‘poetic cinema’; the parallels and divergences between the poetic cinema of the 1920s and the 1960s; the use of the terms ‘poetic cinema’ vs. ‘auteur cinema’; and the overlap between ‘poetic’ and ethno-national cinemas during the late 1960s and 70s. The ambiguities of the term ‘poetic cinema’ in Russo-Soviet critical discourse at different ‘thaws’ and ‘freezes’ in Soviet cultural history point to a repressed ‘other’ behind the realist mandate that dominated Soviet cinema and culture.

摘要

“诗意电影”一词在俄苏批评话语中很常见，但在不同时期有不同的含义。本文展示了“诗意电影”如何具有两个重叠但又截然不同的含义：一方面，根据俄罗斯形式主义，“诗意”一词意味着艺术特有的定义特征；另一方面，它暗示了一种表现方式，其特点是从具体现实中升华，通常归因于诗歌。在苏联历史进程中，“诗意”的意义在“形式主义”和“高尚”意义之间摇摆不定，而后者的意义已经适应了不同的历史条件。文章探讨了“诗意电影”的这些不断变化的含义；1920 年代和 1960 年代的诗意电影之间的异同；使用术语“诗意电影”与 “导演电影”；以及 1960 年代后期和 70 年代“诗意”电影和民族电影之间的重叠。在苏联文化历史的不同“解冻”和“冻结”下，俄苏批评话语中“诗意电影”一词的模棱两可表明，在主导苏联电影和文化的现实主义使命背后，有一个被压抑的“他者”。