Christian Metz's essays on film language are a milestone in semiotics and film analysis. If his terminology may be slightly hard to grasp immediately, it is because he is seeking clear and rigorously defined concepts, strongly grounded both in film practice and in structural linguistics. While structural lingusitics may no longer be a major reference in current intellectual discourse, Metz's book is indeed still extremely useful in understanding some key concepts of film, such as the "pro-filmic": what does an object become when it is standing in front of the camera? Abundant examples from French and American film generously help the reader (and it would be time to reprint and redistribute "Adieu, Philippine", which Metz thoroughly analyzes).