Welcome to Tykwer-World: Tom Tykwer as Auteur

This articles argues that German director Tom Tykwer represents a new type of auteur distinct from that model of prevalent in the New German Cinema. His films foreground a personal style and rework a limited number of themes, but lack the critical dimension of the New German Cinema's "Autorenfilm". Instead, it can be argued that his status as auteur is more a performative gesture that seeks to establish a particular and recognisable brand in the domestic and international market place. The article shows how Tykwer's films create a unique and consistently recognisable filmic world that is presented as entirely artificial and that bears only a loose connection to contemporary social reality. It is argued that this self-conscious artificiality constitutes both a key component of Tykwer's personal style and a foregrounding of the creative presence of the director in his films.