Wuthering Heights (2011)

Introduced by Jamal Batts, doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley, a member of the curatorial collective The Black Aesthetic, and curatorial intern for contemporary art at SFMOMA

Generational trauma and tormented romance intertwine in the second of two adaptations presented in Haunted of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, a pinnacle of the gothic genre.

Seventy-two years (and over twenty adaptations) after Wyler’s acclaimed version, Andrea Arnold’s 2011 interpretation unblinkingly explores the brutal social and sexual politics of Brontë’s book that Wyler’s version politely ignores. Relying sparsely on dialogue and favoring the rough-hewn effects of hand-held cameras, Arnold’s Wuthering Heights responds to Wyler’s polished version by presenting its audiences with a dreamlike, almost proto-literary story of racial violence, adolescent sexuality, and thwarted love.

Print source: Oscilloscope Laboratories

Film Details

Director: Andrea Arnold

Year: 2011

Running time: 129 minutes

Country: United Kingdom

Format: 35mm

Films and schedules may be subject to change.

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