David Clarke (Bath) p.7-21
2006 Issue 3
Abstract
This article argues that German director Tom Tykwer represents a new type of auteur distinct from the model prevalent in the New German Cinema. His films foreground a personal style and rework a limited number of themes, but lack the critical dimension of the New German Cinema’s Autorenfilm. Instead, it can be argued that his status as auteur is more a performative gesture that seeks to establish a particular and recognizable brand in the domestic and international marketplace. The article shows how Tykwer’s films create a unique and consistently recognizable filmic world that is presented as entirely artificial and that bears only a loose connection to contemporary social reality. It is argued that this self-conscious artificiality constitutes both a key component of Tykwer’s personal style and a foregrounding of the creative presence of the director in his films.