I am happy to be able to screen this forgotten gem from the French New Wave, a film which when it was released was spoken about in the same breath as the films of Godard and Truffaut. But the art world and the film world are strange because unless the director has an œuvre, then a film that is made, no matter how special or significant it is, will simply disappear. Such is the fate of this touching film.
So I am excited to screen this extremely rare film, brought back from the depths of the past, this coming Sunday at the OT 301! Plus, for those who want to stay (or come late) I will also be screening La Collectionneuse by Eric Rohmer at 22:30...
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 21
20:30
SUNDAYS AND CYBELE
(Cybèle ou les dimanches de ville d'Avray) 1962
Directed by Serge Bourguignon
106 minutes
In French with English subtitles
Winner of the Academy Award for best foreign film in 1962, the history of this film is amazing. Why has it been forgotten about? Well it seems that it has been deleted from film history for a number of reasons, but perhaps one of those reasons is also its controversial subject matter which is probably more incendiary today than ever before.
The story starts with the French Vietnam war, where the main character, Pierre, is psychologically scarred after he remembers the face of a young Vietnamese girl who he killed during a bombing raid. Returning to France, he lives like a vegetable until he meets a young orphan girl who has been dumped at a boarding school. Posing as her father, Pierre contrives to meet the girl every Sunday. He is clearly attracted to Cybele because of his sense of guilt, but also because of her force of nature. She is quite adult-like , and he is quite child-like. And although nothing explicit is shown on screen, it is clear that their connection is also romantic. For example, Cybele has no qualms about stating that she intends to marry him. But when people see them together during their weekly meetings in the park, rumors start which lead to tragic results.
Living as we do in a world traumatized by instances of pedophilia (and the media hype on this taboo subject), it is easier in our culture to understand the story of Lolita than that of Sundays and Cybèle. In the end, the film is about intolerance and its capacity to destroy intimate relationships when such relationships don’t adhere to convention.
+
22:30
LA COLLECTIONNEUSE (1967)
Directed by Eric Rohmer
87 minutes
In French with English subtitles
La Collectionneuse was the first feature film by Eric Rohmer, and is the forth part of his "Moral Tales". The color cinematography by the great Néstor Almendros is luscious and shows off what he does best...capturing nature's subtle lighting in a sensual way. The story concerns an art dealer and his friend who go to a villa in the south of France to be alone. But their idyll is disturbed by the presence of a bohemian girl who they accuse of being a "collector of men".
CINEMA DERIVE
OVERTOOM 301
Time: 20:30 (doors open at 20:00)
Membership 4 Euros for the evening
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