French Literature Reviews - 2026

T. Voltzenlogel, Harun Farocki: Une hantologie du cinéma
Art and Visual Culture

Harun Farocki: Une hantologie du cinéma

Thomas Voltzenlogel

UGA Éditions, 2021

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ISBN: 978-2-37747-244-4

Pages: 249

Price: 25 €

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Abstract:

Harun Farocki (1944–2014) was a prolific filmmaker and critic who created nearly a hundred films for cinema and television, as well as installation works for exhibition spaces and museums. Firmly rooted in Marxist film theory and practice, the German filmmaker developed a unique philosophy of cinema throughout his career. This book explores a wide selection of his films, tracing the distinctiveness of his cinematic apparatuses in what is currently the first monograph dedicated to him. Through detailed analyses of films and sequences, the book brings forth a hauntological approach to images, examining them—in the footsteps of Derrida—through the lens of the specters that haunt them, as well as ourselves as spectators. The question is no longer simply how to read images, but how to live with them.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Discourse on Method

Holding the Eye Without Captivating It and Freeing the Mind

Look at This: It Looks Back. A Critical and Materialist Hauntology.

Genealogy of Methods

Inscribing War upon a Body

Warding Off the Images

Remembering

Unweaving, De-automating: This Is Only the Beginning

Filmography

Bibliography

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Thomas Voltzenlogel examines the work of German filmmaker and critic Harun Farocki, whose extensive output spans television productions, cinema films, and museum installations. Rooted in Marxist film theory and practice, Farocki developed a distinct cinematic philosophy over his career. This volume explores a wide selection of his films through detailed analyses of specific sequences, placing his moving-image works within the broader landscape of modern essayistic and documentary filmmaking traditions concerned with visual culture and ideology.

The study engages with the concept of hauntology, bringing Jacques Derrida's philosophical framework into dialogue with media theory to consider how historical specters inhabit contemporary visual culture. Rather than focusing solely on traditional semiotic interpretation, the text addresses the ethical and political dimensions of spectator engagement, asking how viewers coexist with persistent images. Readers interested in contemporary film theory, media archaeology, and the intersection of politics and aesthetics may find this volume relevant.

This book has a dedicated page on the publisher's website...