Page - 156 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 02/02

156 | Sofia Sjö www.jrfm.eu 2016, 2/2, 155–160 abundance of studies that focus on story and forget about the materiality of the medium and its specific visual aspects that affect what we see and how we see. Too many studies, she argues, claim to take the medium into consideration, but still leave it out when they actually come to the religious dimension. Down- ing’s study underlines that if their field is to be able to move forward, religion and film scholars need to take the film medium seriously and truly include it in their reflections on religion and film. Religion and film is about not just religious narratives on screen, but also all the things film tells us that cannot be boiled down to story. But what exactly is meant with “religion” in this combination of religion and film? For Downing, as well as, I am sure, for many others, religion seems to be tied to questions of transcendence and of immanence, of film pointing to something beyond and sometimes allowing the divine to shine through. It is therefore not that surprising that the first part of the book focuses particular at- tention on the so-called “breaking the fourth wall”, a cinematic technique that, as Downing argues, shows “how creativity in the cinematic medium can gener- ate religious messages that far exceed the significance of story” (11). When the fourth wall is broken, the medium makes us aware of its existence, but also turns the focus on us, the viewers, and our own presence, forcing us to think of the medium and our relationship to it. This is often done by characters on screen speaking directly to the camera and, in a sense, to the audience. The first example Downing discusses is suitably Annie Hall (Woody Allen, US 1977), a film in which Marshall McLuhan makes an appearance as himself. All the exam- ples discussed by Downing highlight in different ways the ability of the film me- dium to take us out of our hidden location as viewers and emphasize something more and beyond, something that can be seen as transcendent and as connect- ing to a more profound message in the story. Examples of breaking the fourth wall are thus aspects of the film experience that can help researchers capture an important element of films that at least sometimes, writes Downing, “ges- tures toward an interdependence of medium and message that mimics … the interplay of transcendence and immanence found in multiple religions” (91). The first part of Salvation from Cinema focuses on the film medium and film language and on how film viewers are used to seeing films but can also be made aware of what they see and how the medium shapes viewing experiences. Ac- cording to Downing many film viewers are often only aware of their act of see- ing, and not really of what they see, but they can learn to see differently and find new insights in what they see. A focus on framing, editing, graphic matches and other techniques of filmmaking allows the complex layers of a film to be grasped and can help lift our analyses of the religious potential of film. Down- ing’s expertise in film theory shines through in this part of the book, but it is brought into even greater focus in the second part of the book. Here Downing