Reverse Shot 25: Claire Denis

by Ryland Walker Knight

Readers of this blog by now know my affinity for Claire Denis. I've written a few love letters before, such as that piece on 35 Rhums, but I've always found it difficult. Her grammar eludes the linguistic. Yet I keep trying to find the right words because her films keep seducing me. In any event, she has a lot of fans—including many of the Reverse Shot crew, of which I'm something like a "featured player," making symposium cameos every now and again. So it was a real pleasure to take part in this new one, which Koresky and Reichart have titled The Art of Seduction. My essay, about her hour-long reminiscence of teenage hurt—and celebration of dancing—U.S. Go Home, can be found right here. To look at the others, which I'm hoping to do throughout the week, you can see a table of contents, of sorts, by clicking here. Also worth looking at is my buddy Kevin Lee's video essay about L'intrus, which I helped him brainstorm back in May.