Theory in film studies, as elsewhere, is in crisis. The once-dominant psychoanalytic paradigm is contested by cognitive models and 'Post-Theory'. In the background is a wider crisis in cultural studies, particularly as regards the public role of the politically-engaged intellectual. In this major new study Slavoj Z?iz?ek challenges both cognitivist-historicist accounts of cinema, and conventional film theory. Urging a more complex understanding of Lacan, Z?iz?ek seeks to revitalise psychoanalytic approaches to cinema, in defiance of the reductions of Post-Theory, and in so doing opens up new pathways in cultural and critical thought. Z?iz?ek's theoretical arguments are substantiated by provocative and illuminating analyses of the work of the polish director Krzysztof Kies?lowski (1941-96), from his early documentary films of everyday life to the celebrated Decalogue and Three Colours series. In addition Z?iz?ek embroiders his text with characteristically dazzling asides - concerned with everything from Christian doctrine and the New Age obscurities of much of today's popular culture to the nature of cyberspace, the films of David Lynch, 'multivitamin'-flavoured fruit drinks, and Kleist's reading of Kant. -- from back cover.