Jacques Rivette

[tavernier]

And the plot--among other things--thickens.

[justeleblanc]

David, what was your source for Parolini?
Barmy, what was your source for Parolini?

[mirabeau]

David, what was your source for Parolini?
Barmy, what was your source for Parolini?

Um, pretty sure Barmy was winding us up with that one!

[justeleblanc]

And the plot--among other things--thickens.

Tumesces.

[David Ehrenstein]

"David, what was your source for Parolini?"

Serge Daney.

[Stefan]

Just for the record: Godard once said in an interview that he as well as Rivette had "the usual problems with girls" in the 1950s. I don't think he just wanted to be polite and cheated in Rivette's favour ...

[Barmy]

Sorry, but until there's a sex tape, JR is presumptively gay.

[kjenkins]

The Garrel is an absolute masterpiece. Not to be missed under any circumstances.

I saw it last night at BAM, and of course, I now think it deserves a second viewing. Is there any way to get my hands on a (subtitled) copy Le Lit de la Vierge or must I wait for another rare screening?

[Ovader]

I saw it last night at BAM, and of course, I now think it deserves a second viewing. Is there any way to get my hands on a (subtitled) copy Le Lit de la Vierge or must I wait for another rare screening?

Yes!

[kjenkins]

Many thanks, Ovader!

[sevenarts]

I watched Duelle not too long ago, and tonight saw its follow-up Noroit. Wow. After seeing Duelle I was blown away, and then I was stunned to discover that in some ways its successor takes a lot of that film's themes and narrative strategies even further. The second film is basically Rivette totally freed from the constraints of narrative, unafraid to simply let things flow and trust it all to make some intuitive sense in the end (which it does, strangely, despite the narrative's blurriness). It's gorgeous, and the sinister murder dances of the finale constitute some of the most striking and memorable images of Rivette's oeuvre.

Great music, too, in both films but especially in Noroit. Jean Cohen-Solal leads the improv trio that played the soundtrack live on the set and frequently appears in the film as another of Rivette's visual non-sequiturs. Cohen-Solal had a pair of great solo albums in the early 70s, a few years before this was released, and Flutes Libres especially is similar to the scraping, rattling music his trio provides here. I wonder if Rivette chose him on the basis of that album.

[vivahawks]

I watched Duelle not too long ago, and tonight saw its follow-up Noroit. Wow. After seeing Duelle I was blown away, and then I was stunned to discover that in some ways its successor takes a lot of that film's themes and narrative strategies even further. The second film is basically Rivette totally freed from the constraints of narrative, unafraid to simply let things flow and trust it all to make some intuitive sense in the end (which it does, strangely, despite the narrative's blurriness). It's gorgeous, and the sinister murder dances of the finale constitute some of the most striking and memorable images of Rivette's oeuvre.

Great music, too, in both films but especially in Noroit. Jean Cohen-Solal leads the improv trio that played the soundtrack live on the set and frequently appears in the film as another of Rivette's visual non-sequiturs. Cohen-Solal had a pair of great solo albums in the early 70s, a few years before this was released, and Flutes Libres especially is similar to the scraping, rattling music his trio provides here. I wonder if Rivette chose him on the basis of that album.

I liked Duelle well enough when I saw it, but couldn't get into Noroit; seemed to me like it was pretty much all ground Rivette had covered before in one way or another, though it was beautiful and I liked that finale as well. Possibly I was expecting something somewhat different given how I love Lang's Moonfleet and knew it was a proclaimed influence on this. I guess I just don't feel the intuitive sense behind it all; your writeup was much more interesting than the film I remember!

[Tommaso]

I liked Duelle well enough when I saw it, but couldn't get into Noroit; seemed to me like it was pretty much all ground Rivette had covered before in one way or another, though it was beautiful and I liked that finale as well. Possibly I was expecting something somewhat different given how I love Lang's Moonfleet and knew it was a proclaimed influence on this. I guess I just don't feel the intuitive sense behind it all; your writeup was much more interesting than the film I remember!

I never actually thought that the film was supposed to make much 'sense' in a normal way; it's a difficult and perhaps frustrating film if you try to sort out the (improvised) narrative. But the qualities of "Noroit" lie elsewhere, in the way it is an almost hallucinatory, dreamlike experience, like a palimpsest in which several other layers help to obscure the Tourneur play that is seemingly at its basis. In this respect, it goes further than any other Rivette film (including "Celine and Julie"). A wonderful film totally driven by the mise en scène and indeed that soundtrack; a rare occasion in Rivette's work where the soundtrack is allowed to structure and drive the film to such an extent.

[Stefan]

Just in case that people haven't heard/read the excellent news yet - which came up some ten days ago.

The new film's - deliciously bizarre - title has already been added to the Rivette entry at wikipedia, so it may be safe to assume the project's more than a canard this time ...

[Tommaso]

Sounds wonderful, and I really like that title! Good to see the old man thriving, now that so few of the older and greater generation of filmmakers are still with us.

[sidehacker]

So has anyone seen Le Pont du Nord? It's pretty much a masterpiece.

[MichaelB]

Sounds wonderful, and I really like that title! Good to see the old man thriving, now that so few of the older and greater generation of filmmakers are still with us.

Mind you, the 1950s Cahiers generation aren't doing too badly - of the big five, Godard, Rohmer, Rivette and Chabrol are still active, with only Truffaut dying young.

[Tommaso]

Yes, you're right of course; incidentally Rivette is the only one of the big five that I personally really like, plus I was in my general cultural pessimist mood when I wrote that. I guess I simply want the likes of Bergman and Tarkovsky back, or want to see Jodorowsky or Erice complete at least one film in the foreseeable future...

[Michael Kerpan]

So has anyone seen Le Pont du Nord? It's pretty much a masterpiece.

My favorite Rivette film of all (and I pretty much love everything he's made).

[Awesome Welles]

I simply want the likes of Bergman and Tarkovsky back, or want to see Jodorowsky or Erice complete at least one film in the foreseeable future...

Isn't Jodorowsky working on something right now? I did hear a rumour recently, though can't remember where. He has a listing on IMDB for something called King Shot ...

[Tommaso]

Isn't Jodorowsky working on something right now? I did hear a rumour recently, though can't remember where. He has a listing on IMDB for something called King Shot ...

Great find! If you look through the discussion at imdb, someone posted a quote from Hollywood Reporter saying that David Lynch's Absurda is producing it. And there's even a website for the film with no content yet... Ahm... I only believe it when I see it (there have been so many rumours about Jodo being at work again in the last ten years), but it looks promising!

[Obade]

Hi everyone. I am a big fan of JR, I am currently writing my PhD essay about Out 1 (but I like all his movies as well).

Anyone knows some good actors' database where can I find out how to contact the actors that took part in the movie? I have spoken with Michael Lonsdale and Bulle Ogier but I'd like to reach some other ones as well. I have checked many agencies databases but it seems many of them haven't done much after Out 1. Any suggestions?

Thanks

btw my english may be not perfect, sorry for that I'm Italian

Oh, and I own a personal VHS copy of Out 1: Noli me tangere, full version with italian subs. Mail me if you want a DVD copy of that, I have ripped the eight episodes to 4 DVDs for my University as it will soon be uploaded on our internal cinema archive.

[Tommaso]

So has anyone seen Le Pont du Nord? It's pretty much a masterpiece.

My favorite Rivette film of all (and I pretty much love everything he's made).

Michael, as you said the same in the AE thread a few days ago, would you care to enlarge? I was actually inspired by your post in that thread to re-watch the film last night, and it confirmed the impression I always had of "Pont du Nord". A nice film which basically reworks some themes of earlier films, mostly "Celine" and "Duelle" without going so much over the top as these earlier films, apart from the ending perhaps. It may sound strange, but I actually think that "Pont du Nord" is too short; it feels a bit too condensed for the quantity of threads (or threats?) that is in there; and the final insinuation that Marie may have been involved in what appears to be terrorist activities in Germany in earlier years didn't convince me too much; it feels as if Rivette was looking for an explanation for what was going on in a 'realistic' manner, something that he doesn't attempt to do so much in earlier films.

But I don't want to be over-critical: it's a beautiful film (especially a beautiful Paris film), very 'light' in a positive sense (like "Va savoir"), and the performances of mother and daughter Ogier are absolutely gorgeous. I somehow suspect that especially Pascale Ogier's character and acting made the film so dear to you? Perhaps the film is an ideal starting point for someone who hasn't seen any Rivette yet.

[Michael Kerpan]

Michael, as you said the same in the AE thread a few days ago, would you care to enlarge?

I never worried much about the plot machinations (as I have yet to see it subbed). ;~}

What I love most about Pont du Nord is the combination of Ogier mere et fille -- and the way it captures (mostly) non-touristic Paris. I find this considerably weightier than Va savoir -- in mood and tone. But it seems more "relaxed" (somehow, not sure why) than Celine and Julie, Duelle, Noroit, et al.

[Tommaso]

What I love most about Pont du Nord is the combination of Ogier mere et fille -- and the way it captures (mostly) non-touristic Paris. I find this considerably weightier than Va savoir -- in mood and tone. But it seems more "relaxed" (somehow, not sure why) than Celine and Julie, Duelle, Noroit, et al.

I agree on all points; one could add that it also plays a lot with cinematographic references. Loved that moment when Bulle stops Pascale from slashing the eyes of Nakadai in that film poster advertising "Kagemusha"; as if Rivette wanted to say that although the city is under surveillance by forces unknown (the lion statues or the beauty adverts elsewhere in the film), good ole Kuro is on our side ; the "Kagemusha" reference also plays on the theme of double identities in the film more specifically, of course.

So yes, it's a playful and indeed more relaxed film than the others you mention. But curiously, these are precisely those that I would prefer over "Pont du Nord", though I'm equally not sure why; perhaps because it occupies some middle-ground between those films and the funnier "Va savoir" - another of my favourites - and is surprisingly short for a Rivette film (but then, "Duelle" and "Noroit" are not longer either, just perhaps more concentrated, if one can say that about "Noroit"...).

Talking about Pascale Ogier: would it be a good idea to check out Rohmer's "Les nuits de la pleine lune"? I remember to have seen it some time in the 80s when it came out, but have basically lost all memory of it, and wasn't really amazed by Rohmer in the films I saw from him later. But Pascale is such a magnificent actress that I almost want to see her again regardless of the film.