Video

Watch: The Sensual World of Claire Denis

Words by Luís Azevedo

A man holding a young child in a dark room, with warm orange lighting.
A man holding a young child in a dark room, with warm orange lighting.
Filtering the cinematic landscape of this master filmmaker through the five senses.

What is it that makes the films of Claire Denis so unique? Part of the magic is that it’s near-impossible to second-guess her impulses as an artist. There’s an alchemy at work. She employs a formula so complex, that even if we uncovered it we likely wouldn’t be able to comprehend it.

Yet one aspect does stand out, and that is her interest in using the camera to transmit tactile feeling, to stimulate the senses with her sublime audio visual offerings.

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Inspired by this observation, video essayist Luís Azevedo filters her work through one of the five senses: touch, taste, sound, smell and sight. Welcome to the sensual world of Claire Denis.

The script for this video was partly extracted from Little White Lies 79: The High Life issue – on sale now. Watch below and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more great video essays.

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