Film • History • Memoir

We carry history with us throughout our lives, not just our individual history and memory, our family and genealogical history, but also the larger history of which our lives are a part. Memory is an important part of our lives and identity. It is not only about the past, but also about the present and the future.

Society today is permeated by films and other media, including also by commemorative images and historical narratives. The historical narratives and memories that we experience and are fascinated by greatly influence us individually. They also establish a connection to a larger, collective history.

This book analyzes the central historical genres within both fictional and documentary film narratives. It demonstrates how film manages to bring history to life, and thus be a significant alternative and supplement to the science of history. The cinematic storytelling does not just create an experience of a historical reality. It also initiates reflections on the past and present.
The book's analyzes focus both on films that use the director's own childhood and family memories as material for commemorative and contemporary images, on films that dig deep into the historical everyday history, and on films that depict well-known historical figures. It also deals with historical films in which the Second World War is at the center, and thus with the interpretative struggle about major, central, historical events.

Contents

1. Introduction. The memory and the visual experience of time
2. The traumatic memory - Ingmar Bergman
3. The cinematic landscapes of childhood and youth
4. Everyday time - the little story
5. The subjective memoir film – cinematic autobiographies
6. The biographical time – the portrait film
7. The time of history – the great history
8. History and memory as a battle of interpretation
9. Conclusion. The cultural dialectic of memory