Intervening at the crossroads of philosophy, politics, and cinema, this
book argues that the career of Robert Guédiguian is the result of one of
the most original and coherent projects in contemporary French cinema:
to make a committed, historically-conscious cinema, in a local space,
over a long period of time, but most especially with friends.
The account starts with in-depth consideration of friendship and its
relation to philosophy, politics, time, and space. The book
chronologically traces this project as it begins in Guédiguian's
hometown, the Communist-leaning Marseille. It further unfolds through
the political transformations of the 1980s Left and the local activism
and utopias of the 1990s, and spreads into Guédiguian's varied
explorations of genre and register. Close analysis is accompanied with
historical and social contextualization, but also with a consistent
return to the underlying, radical and philosophically rich project.