L'Annulaire (Diane Bertrand, 2005)

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domino harvey
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L'Annulaire (Diane Bertrand, 2005)

#1 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jan 24, 2011 8:52 pm

L'Annulaire (the Ring Finger) belongs to the same class of films as Mulholland Drive or Innocence, mysterious spectres of cinema that insist in their construction on the importance of unfathomable mysteries and require symbolic and interpretive readings as a necessity, because to follow the "plot" as it is would be to drive oneself mad. Ostensibly it is the story of a girl who moves to a small town, gets a job, and starts an affair with her boss. The same basic material of a hundred other films. But that is and isn't what's going on, and I dare say few films compare to this one beyond surface similarities. I don't pretend to be familiar with director Diane Bertrand, but she has made here a fascinating, otherworldly piece of cinema that both presents and simultaneously critiques eroticism from a feminine perspective.

It is impossible to talk about the film without talking about the beauty of Olga Kurylenko as depicted in the film. In the same way that Sterberg understood Dietrich, Godard Karina, and all of her directorial coterie Garbo, Bertrand gives us Kurylenko. Heavy, hyperbolic praise, I know, but this is a film utterly enamored with its starlet, and whether that comes from any personal feelings behind the scenes or, as I suspect, at service to the film's necessities, I can't say with certainty. What I can say is that I am hard-pressed to think of any other recent film that presents its subject with such violent and fervent physical attraction. Sweat-matted, expertly lit and coutured, Kurylenko here is a French Vogue fever dream, the presence of which in a film would merely boil down to subjective tastes in the viewer with regards to her attractiveness were it not for what Bertrand does with this depiction.

The film presents eroticism as ghost story, a haunting simultaneously decried and desired. Kurylenko's Iris is only defined by her impulsive attraction to her boss and their every interaction is one of power-- his. This is not a mutually consuming relationship, but the depiction of how one lover becomes consumed by their partner to the point of illogic and withdrawal from all other stimuli. If Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses failed to truly understand sex as a primary, driving impetus without forgoing monotony and shock, here is a film that does by showing it as hopelessly one-sided. It's the actions and behaviors of her boss that drive the feminist critique of power-driven eroticism that is ultimately in play here. Early in the film he buys her a pair of shoes and insists she wears them at all times. The symbolism of sexual commodity is anything but subtle. Their first sexual encounter is so hopelessly removed from eroticism in a film that is already so sexually charged that it becomes vulgar and disorienting. And the boss' profession, the intangible mysteries of which I'll not elucidate on here, says it all-- he collects, preserves, files, and moves on. Iris gradually removes herself from the world around her and it starts to evaporate away like beads of sweat when faced with a strong breeze.

That some men are jerks who court women from a societally imposed position of power and then do their best to marginalize their import is not a new message. But it isn't what is expressed, it's how that makes film the medium it is, and by making the viewer part of the eroticism, to share all of the attraction to Iris without any of the boss', the audience is all the more removed from his position and the ease of critique becomes lucid and fervent, with the resultant film itself possessing an innate erotic impulse all its own.

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Jean-Luc Garbo
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Re: L'Annulaire (Diane Bertrand 2005)

#2 Post by Jean-Luc Garbo » Sun Mar 06, 2011 2:49 pm

This is definitely for me more like Belle du jour and Institute Benjamenta. I loved it, but still very puzzled at how to explain it. The eroticism as ghost story that domino described is definitely a sound approach to the film and also reminds me of Rivette's Histoire de Marie et Julien. I didn't find Olga Kurylenko very attractive at all, but she was a rivetting presence anyway. The film is definitely in love with her and it certainly helped the mystery of the film go further than I thought it would. The constant presence of the color red was another element of that mysterious quality, but I don't know how much of its significance I've truly sussed out. I don't disagree that there's a power critique in the film, but I thought that a critique of the gaze was here as well. Iris gets watched so much that it feels like she could just as well be a specimen - which raises other questions about the ending although I think the end is more about her finally freeing herself. Besides Olga and the sets, I'd say that the music is the biggest element that drives the film for me. Beth Gibbons provides such beautiful, aching music that it felt like the soul of the film. It almost feels like its own character. I've seen the film twice now and the music like the film is no less haunting. It's a fit accompaniment to what feels like a rather lovely fairy tale.
Last edited by Jean-Luc Garbo on Sun Mar 27, 2011 6:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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domino harvey
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Re: L'Annulaire (Diane Bertrand, 2005)

#3 Post by domino harvey » Sun Mar 27, 2011 5:29 pm

I like your idea of seeing it as a rather dark fairy tale, some early grim version full of erotic meaning before the blood was drained out of it for the kiddies!

Since words hardly do this film justice, maybe these gorgeous production photos can sway some more board members into seeking out this wonderful film?

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