Making The Secret Language of Film —Juan Luis Buñuel

I first met Jean Claude Carriere in Madrid in 1964 when he drove down from Paris to work with my father on the script of Diary of a Chambermaid. He was a young author and only spoke French as a modern language. Once into Spain, he saw two young men hitchhiking and he picked them up. They also were going to Madrid. They also were priests. These men dressed in black didn’t speak French, Jean Claude didn’t speak Spanish…so they spoke Latin.

Which is a perfect illustration of Jean Claude’s cultural background.

I was always fascinated by his memory, his knowledge of the different arts and his capacity for work. When I read his book THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF FILM, I immediately thought that his interpretation of the technique and philosophy of the Cinema was of an utmost importance for us, the great audience of obsessive cinema lovers throughout the world. He takes apart the cinema technique from the very beginning and explains it to us with the use of examples taken from films. Those who care for cinema, have always studied and spent many a sleepless night in cafes and bars, discussing, arguing, getting furious, embracing…and at time agreeing on the hidden mysteries of this latest projection. At first people did not understand films. They were just images projected over their heads onto large white screens. When The Lumiere Brothers’ simple film of a train, a silent train, arrived—belching smoke and cinders—the audience screamed in terror. They thought a real train would crush them all. Since then, we the audience have become more sophisticated. We have learned the “film language.” And from the very first days, this language has evolved into an incredibly complex manner. Television, video and cassettes, film cameras, cinema houses…all these have taken us into a world that is controlling our lives.

I wish to make a film on this book. Jean Claude analyzes each aspect of the Cinema and Television technique. He shows us the intricate wonder of this world, but also the tricks which can dominate our thinking.