The Injury: On Pathosformel in João Pedro Rodrigues’s Work

This chapter proposes a structural examination of João Pedro Rodrigues’ work on the recurring theme of injury. Drawing from Gilles Deleuze’s concepts of image pulsion and the elementary world, João Pedro Rodrigues’ four feature films are analysed as naturalist cinema, in which the idea of an impersonal injury is central. The chapter demonstrates how the injury is not a social determination of the characters, as in a realistic aesthetic, but a vital element that contributes to their own identity. In order to proceed with this analysis, this study uses Aby Warburg’s concept of pathosformel so as to prove that these films stem from the same trope: a kiss on a wound, a figure Georges Didi-Huberman studied in the long Christian genealogy. The aim is to show how this figure is a representation of the way the singularity of queer bodies meets the Christian utopia of founding a unique flesh. This correlation will allow us to better understand the films of João Pedro Rodrigues, along with his obsessions and themes.