(L'immortelle)
Country: FR/IT
Technical: bw 101m
Director: Alain Robbe-Grillet
Cast: Françoise Brion, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Guido Celano
Synopsis:
A young man about to undertake a teaching role in Istanbul meets a beautiful, mysterious woman who agrees to show him the sights. Her movements appear to be shadowed by a stranger in sunglasses leading a pair of mastiffs.
Review:
As usual with Robbe-Grillet, it is the unanswered questions that reveal the most: why does L's wardrobe change from shot to shot? Why does she guard the secret of her ability to speak the local languages? Why is she so coy about physical contact in public, or revealing where she lives, but reveals all when alone with N in his room? What we seem to have is a Circe-like creature, who ultimately tempts men to their doom, her shape-changing and intimate knowledge of the city an index of her 'immortality'. The director benefitted from a rare budget, owing to the 'money-laundering nature' of the production, and the Nina Ricci costumes and cinematography are exquisite. Also, he in fact wrote the screenplay before 'Marienbad' was made, and it contains many reminiscences of that classic, not least the inventories of architectural features, the woman's timorous refusal to 'engage', and the designation of the three characters by their respective capital letters.
(L'immortelle)
Country: FR/IT
Technical: bw 101m
Director: Alain Robbe-Grillet
Cast: Françoise Brion, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Guido Celano
Synopsis:
A young man about to undertake a teaching role in Istanbul meets a beautiful, mysterious woman who agrees to show him the sights. Her movements appear to be shadowed by a stranger in sunglasses leading a pair of mastiffs.
Review:
As usual with Robbe-Grillet, it is the unanswered questions that reveal the most: why does L's wardrobe change from shot to shot? Why does she guard the secret of her ability to speak the local languages? Why is she so coy about physical contact in public, or revealing where she lives, but reveals all when alone with N in his room? What we seem to have is a Circe-like creature, who ultimately tempts men to their doom, her shape-changing and intimate knowledge of the city an index of her 'immortality'. The director benefitted from a rare budget, owing to the 'money-laundering nature' of the production, and the Nina Ricci costumes and cinematography are exquisite. Also, he in fact wrote the screenplay before 'Marienbad' was made, and it contains many reminiscences of that classic, not least the inventories of architectural features, the woman's timorous refusal to 'engage', and the designation of the three characters by their respective capital letters.
