The semiotic chora in Chantal Akerman’s cinema: body, rhythm and pre-linguistic aurality

This study examines the position of sound in Chantal Akerman’s cinema within the framework of Julia Kristeva’s concept of the ‘semiotic chora.’ Akerman’s films demonstrate that sound, going beyond being merely an auditory element, can function as a narrative device operating on rhythmic, bodily, and sensory levels. In this study, the long takes, the minimal degree of spatial variety, the monotonous repetitions, and the silences in Akerman’s cinema are analyzed from the perspective of the concept of the semiotic chora, which corresponds to the pre-linguistic and bodily/rhythmic relations established with the mother. The significance of the study lies in its reconsideration of the debate on the auditory dimension of cinema from a feminist perspective. Thus, examining the use of sound in Akerman’s cinema through Kristeva’s theory both develops an alternative perspective on the representation of the female subject and reveals the transformative potential of aurality in cinematic meaning-making.