Suggestive verbalizations in film: on character speech and sensory imagination

Against the background of a widespread language skepticism among film theorists and practitioners, this article aims to highlight evocative potential spoken words in cinema. Focusing on an aesthetic device dubbed ‘suggestive verbalization’, it demonstrates how character speech can powerfully appeal spectator’s sensory imagination: allows viewers imagine – various modes something they do not see or hear. The sets out show that power dialogue is largely uncharted territory studies then defines term verbalizations’ more closely. By means examples, subsequently distinguishes four types suggestive verbalization along temporal lines: verbalization-of-the-past, verbalization-of-the-present, verbalization-of-the-future verbalization-of-generalities. In final section, several functions are discussed verbalizations have for aesthetics viewer’s experience. An implicit goal contribute ongoing work poetics ‘omission, suggestion completion’ cinema phenomenology imagination. thus supports attempts define exclusively as perceptual audiovisual medium but also depends and, fact, thrives imagination viewer.