What can film tell us about enjoyment and sexual difference? Can cinematic fiction be more Real than reality? Fabio Vighi looks at Jacques Lacan's theory of sexuality alongside some of the best-known works of European cinema, including films by Fellini, Truffaut, Antonioni and Bergman.

Introduction PART I: THE COMFORT OF FANTASIES Sublime Objects: The Antinomies of Masculine Sexuality from Fellini to Truffaut Ethics of Drive: On Beauty and its Enjoyment from Rohmer to Pasolini Unbearable Freedoms: The Real of Sexual Difference from Rossellini to Fassbinder PART II: VARIATIONS ON FEMININE ENJOYMENT In the Beginning was Enjoyment: The Emergence of Feminine Desire in Bergman and Antonioni About Nothing, with Precision: Femininity Unbound from Ophuls to Antonioni  In Film Beyond Film: On the Ontological Primacy of Woman Conclusion Bibliography Index

'Fabio Vighi has not simply redefined European cinema but has opened up an entire field of study. This book begins to fill the immense lacuna within contemporary film studies surrounding recent developments in Lacanian theory. The interpretations that he provides offer a radical rethinking of Rohmer, Fellini, Antonioni, Bergman, and many other important directors. After Sexual Difference in European Cinema , what's at stake in the work of these directors becomes truly apparent for the first time.' - Todd McGowan, University of Vermont, USA