I am starting a project (and will propose to teach a class) on magical
realism in film and literature.
 
The only source I know directly dealing with magical realism in film is
Fredric Jameson's article in _Critical Inquiry_ a few years ago.  One of the
problems with this article is that he analyzes two films that I suspect are
nearly impossible to get hold of--indeed for one, the Polish film _Fever_ he
explicitly states that there is only one print in the US.  Thanks, Fred.
 
So I would be interested in any suggestions as to examples of or definitions
of magical realism in film.  Some examples that I have come up with include
_Like Water For Chocolate_, _Wings of Desire_, _Miracle in Milan_, _Santa
Sangre_ and _The Tin Drum_.
 
If it helps, I don't have a much better idea of how to define magical
realism in literature, except to reel off a list of the usual suspects:
Rushdie, Garcia Marquez, Grass, Kundera, Carpentier, Allende....
 
My suspicion is that as a _formal_ concept magical realism doesn't have much
weight and is separable only with difficulty from the fable, the fantastic
or whatever.  As a historical concept, magical realism is usually associated
with post-colonialism (with German and Czech twists) and with different ways
of writing history (often woman or "home" centered as in both Allende's
_House of the Spirits_ and _Like Water For Chocololate_) I have a feeling
that cooking is important--cf. Rushdie's _Midnight's Children_; thus maybe
_Tampopo_?--and a certain political content generated by the sense of a
failing _poltical_ realism (thus _Brazil_?).
 
But in the end I still have little idea.
 
Jon
 
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