Nog eens zien

There are films you only need to see once. And there are films that stay with you — the ones you can’t watch often enough. Why is that? What makes certain films continue to intrigue us?

That power of cinema is at the heart of Seeing Again, the new book by Pauline Terreehorst and Gerard de Vries. Against the backdrop of literature, philosophy, politics, and visual art, they unravel in nine chapters how and why some films keep making us think — through music and color, narrative structure, realism, or the portrayal of love, sex, violence, and gender roles. Or through the moral and political questions they raise about truth, justice, and the future of the world.

Seeing Again discusses thirty films in detail — from timeless classics to more recent titles from Europe, Asia, America, and the Middle East. The films themselves take center stage, not the actors, directors, or popular opinions surrounding them. The book is a plea to truly look — and to listen closely.

On November 19, Pauline Terreehorst and Gerard de Vries will join Wim Daniëls at Natlab for a conversation with the audience about the films that linger, about seeing and re-seeing, and about what makes cinema such an inexhaustible source of meaning.

Pauline Terreehorst previously wrote about photography, fashion, and new media (including for de Volkskrant) and served as director of Natlab!

Gerard de Vries has written extensively on philosophy and the societal aspects of science and technology. He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy of Science at the University of Amsterdam.