Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995) was a French philosopher who covered a wide range of subjects including film theory. I have concentrated on the work that he did that I believe may have relevance to my narrative film.

His major work on cinema is divided into two categories; the Movement-Image and the Time-Image. In the movement-image, he discusses traditional narrative cinema, which relies on cause-and-effect relationships and the continuity of time and space. Whereas, the time-image, is when there is a break from this traditional narrative structure that explores non-linear and fragmented approaches to storytelling. Both of these approaches could be relevant to my film.

The Movement-Image

The concept of the movement-image is a key way in which Deleuze analyses traditional forms of narrative film. He published this concept in a book called “Cinema 1: The Movement-Image,” which was published in 1983. He argues that movement-image is a way to explain how traditional cinema (i.e. Hollywood films) constructs and communicates narratives by manipulating time, space, and cause/effect.

The main ideas associated with this concept include:

1. Continuity and Representation: In the movement-image, cinema is primarily concerned with continuity and representation. This means that in traditional narrative cinema the aim is to create a seamless flow of images and sounds that represent a story in a cause-and-effect way. Time is linear, as is space and the narrative structure is clear with well-defined characters and plot points.
2. Action and Reaction: Movement-image relies heavily on the principle of action and reaction. It presents events in a way that shows how actions lead to consequences and how characters respond to various stimuli. This cause-and-effect structure is old-style or classic Hollywood cinema, where the story reveals itself in a logical and predictable fashion.
3. Cinematic Techniques: Deleuze also discusses the use of cinematic techniques such as composition of the shots, ways of editing, and camera movement. These techniques are used to create a coherent narrative that the audience can easily follow.
4. Sensory-Motor System: Deleuze introduces the idea of the “sensory-motor system” as the way in which classic cinema engages the viewer’s senses and motor functions. Viewers are drawn into the narrative because they start to identify with characters and react emotionally to what happens on the screen.
5. Perception of Time:  Time is typically perceived as linear and continuous with the past, present, and future tightly connected. This perception of time aligns with conventional storytelling techniques.

The Time-Image

“Cinema 2: The Time-Image” was published in 1985 and explores more complex and non-linear approaches to filmmaking and film analysis. He believes that film that does not confine itself to conventional linear storytelling (i.e. movement-image)  but rather displays a more fragmented sense of time and continuity provides new and interesting ways of telling stories. This fragmentation often involves blurring of past, present, and future, making it challenging for the viewer to work out a clear chronological order of events.

Some key points:

1. Subjectivity and Memory: The time-image film often explores the subjective experiences of characters and the way they perceive and remember events. Memory becomes a key element in how the narrative is constructed, meaning that characters may revisit or re-experience past moments in a non-linear fashion. This focus on individual subjectivity and memory allows films to be more introspective and psychological. A good explain of this is Martin Scorsese’s film Shutter Island (2010) where the story is seen through the eyes of the main protagonist who is mentally unstable, making his memories unreliable.
2. Sensations and Affects: These films have a strong emphasis on creating sensory impacts for the audience. Instead of prioritising action and plot, the time-image film tries to evoke sensations and emotions in the audience. These sensations can vary, from being disorienting, to contemplative, or dreamlike. A good example of this is the David Lynch film, Mulholland Drive (2001) that combines dreamlike sequences, narrative disruptions, and a nonlinear narrative to create a mysterious and unsettling atmosphere.
3. The Crystal-Image: The “crystal-image” is a key concept for time-image. This is when, in the film, the past, present, and future come together into a single, crystalline moment. The crystal-image represents a collapse of traditional temporal boundaries and invites viewers to contemplate the coexistence of different temporal dimensions within a single frame. A good example of the crystal image in a film is Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010). Actually, this film is a good example of many different time-image concepts. In the film there is a scene where Dom Cobb (the protagonist) revisits his memories and confronts his own guilt and regrets about his wife, Mal who died. The moment takes place inside a dream world, but at the same time and the structure shifts to show the coexistence of multiple temporal dimensions. As Dom delves deeper into his memories and emotions, the boundaries between the past and present begin to weirdly blur, and time becomes sort of fluid and subjective. The scene is a good example of the crystal-image because it brings together the  introspection of past events and emotions, with the present. In this way it gives the audience and chance to think about the complexities of memory, guilt, and the interplay between different temporal layers.
4. Non-linearity and Discontinuity: To achieve this, directors make use techniques such as flashbacks, flash-forwards, and elliptical editing to disrupt the traditional flow of time and confuse audiences’ expectations.
5. Art Cinema and Avant-Garde Film: The time-image is often associated with art cinema and avant-garde filmmaking, where directors experiment with narrative structures and visual styles to create more open-ended stories.

Applying this to my work

On reflection, I do not believe it necessary to choose exclusively a movement-image or a time-image approach to making my film, although at this point I believe that movement-image is the most effective concept for a film that should also have educational value. Time-image films are characterised by nuanced and rich experiences for an audience that wish to untangle to the non-linearity and discontinuity of a film and contemplate the multiple-interpretations that could be made. That may be part of the appeal of a time-image film, however, for my film, I would need to give consideration to how the audience dealing with discontinuity and non-linearity would help or hinder the learning value.