The Cinematic Fascination of the Face: Bait

It sometimes seems so obvious that we can forget that the face is central to cinema’s meaning. It is through the face of the actor that we are further absorbed into drama, the romance, the comedy. Think of the exchange of looks between Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant in Portrait of a Lady on Fire as a prime example. However directors have taken different approaches to the expressiveness of the actor’s face reducing the emotion to reveal, as cultural philosopher Roland Barthes described of Greta Garbo, an idea rather than an event. Here's a programme of films for you this week that celebrate the cinematic fascination of the face.

Stunningly shot on a vintage 16mm camera using monochrome Kodak stock, Mark Jenkin’s remarkable film is a timely, funny, yet poignant tale that gets right to the heart of a Cornish community facing an unwelcome change.

Our Cinema Curator Mark Cosgrove says:

Edward Rowe’s struggling Cornish fisherman Martin Ward is the at the heart of Mark Jenkin's award winning Bait. Jenkins films him with nods to Russian cinema of the 1920s and the heroic worker whilst close-ups of his face reveal the social and political conscience of the film.

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