Animating the Cinéfils: Alain Resnais and the Cinema of Discovery

This article examines the relationship between animation and an idea of cinema as it has evolved in the postwar period, particularly under the influence of the writing of André Bazin. Through close readings of Alain Resnais’s films, as well as their critical reception, the article highlights the great importance of animation, comics, and other ephemeral graphic images to an earlier generation of French critics and filmmakers. Recovering this importance will help us navigate the confusing media landscape we inhabit today and build continuities across apparently distinct aesthetic and historical practices.