Neoformalist Film Analysis Kristin Thompson

I believe Kristin Thompson’s underlying argument—that neoformalist analysis is the best way to critically approach all films—is well thought out and supported, but honestly the article was so dense and wordy that it was nearly impossible for me to get through. While I believe Thompson included way too many details that were not helping her argument, certain points did stick out to me as being relevant and valuable. I did like her explanation of neoformalist analysis as not being set on a fixed method, and instead an approach that is used differently for each piece of work. I appreciate how neoformalism acknowledges each film as a work of art that must be properly addressed and analyzed on its own terms. Thompson focuses on the idea of an “aesthetic realm” which she argues is extremely important to recognize when analyzing a film. She points out that many film theorists ignore this realm and instead want to use the film to draw larger conclusions that dismiss the smaller specificities of the art. I thought this was a very interesting point to make, and I agree with the fact that people, including myself, tend to explain worldwide values and morals through the analysis of one story.  Thompson, on the other hand, values the neoformalist approach that views each film as its own work of art rather than a some sort of broad life lesson. She further developed this idea by explaining the use of the word “device” in neoformalism. She describes each film as a device, which makes up a small part of a larger system. Therefore, one cannot look at film as a medium, but must actively gain an understanding of the motivation, historical context, and aesthetic realm of a film by recognizing the particular qualities of the individual device being analyzed.  Overall, Thompson had some very intriguing points to make, and I do think neoformalism is a strong and notable approach to film analysis, and one that I hope to successfully utilize this semester.