May 23 - June 6
THE FANTASTIC REALISM OF JACQUES RIVETTE
For the past five decades, Jacques Rivette has produced arguably one of the most fascinating bodies of work (23 features, some extended or different versions of others) in French cinema. This least known and understood of the new wave filmmakers shares with his confrères an auspicious initiation as critic (and, for a time, editor) for Cahiers du cinéma as well as assistant to Renoir and Becker, among others. He is the most cinephilic of his filmmaking generation and even today at 78 attends the cinema at least three times a day.
Rivette, like Godard, continued in his post Cahiers-period to use the cinematic medium as commentary (or perhaps query is the better word) on the movies. But he went further than any other in his consistent fascination with the processes of cinema, duration, the interplay of magic/theatre/fiction and reality (Céline and Julie Go Boating, Duelle), artistic process (as in La belle noiseuse, Paris Belongs to Us) & performance, & in his working methods with his actors (who are frequently credited as co-writers), He has worked with some of the best French actors of the past 50 years including Bulle Ogier, Juliet Berto, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Bernadette Lafont and more recently Jane Birkin, Michel Piccoli and Jeanne Balibar. His production team have also remained faithful: who can separate the work of Rivette from that of cinematographer William Lubtchansky, editor Nicole Lubtchansky and writers Pascal Bonitzer, Eduardo de Gregorio & Christine Laurent?
With so many delimiting factors such as film duration and print availability, this small season can only hope to provide a snapshot of Rivette's work. It is hoped we will present more of his work at next year's Cinémathèque. But in the meantime please enjoy this selection from this very special filmmaker whose films are at once playful and thought-provoking.
MAY 23 - 6.30 pm
Jacques Rivette: Introductory Lecture
Dr. Mary Wiles, Lecuturer in Theatre & Film Studies at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, will provide an introduction to the work of Jacques Rivette. Dr. Wiles is currently writing a book - the first in the English language - on the work of Rivette.
MAY 23 - 7.00 pm
Paris Belongs to Us
Jacques Rivette (1960) 140 mins
A theatre troupe rehearses Shakespeare's Pericles whilst a sinister political conspiracy results in several deaths. Rivette's first feature, filmed over 2 years, was a triumph of tenacity over adversity & presents an astonishing personal vision of intellectual life & paranoia in Paris. Made with the assistance of the cream of the New Wave including Chabrol & Truffaut (producers), Jean Gruault (co-writer), Charles Bitsch (cinematography) & starring Jean-Claude Brialy, Godard & Demy. Newly restored imported 35mm print.
MAY 23 - 9:30pm
Duelle
(Jacques Rivette) 1976 mins 121 mins
The rivalling Sun Fairy (Bulle Ogier) and Ghost Goddess (Juliet Berto) both descend to Paris to search for, and battle over, a magic stone that will allow them to remain on Earth past their allotted 40 days. Perhaps the quintessential Rivette film, Duelle weaves supernaturalism and noir elements into a magical distillation of the mysterythriller genre. Rivette's first collaboration with cinematographer William Lubtchansky transports the viewer with its stylistic elegance, sweeping camera and jazz score (performed live in front of the camera!). Imported 35mm print.
MAY 30 - 7.00pm
Le Coup du berger
(Jacques Rivette) 1956 France 28 mins.
A fur coat given to a lover in an affair goes missing, deepening marital suspicions. With its' ultra-low cost, this early New Wave short utilised the talents of, & inspired, many of its alumni co-written with Chabrol & efficiently filmed by Charles Bitsch, & produced by Pierre Braunberger, starring Jean-Claude Brialy, & featuring Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Truffaut, Godard, Rivette & Chabrol. And assistant direction from Jean-Marie Straub.
May 30 - 7:40pm
Celine & Julie Go Boating
(Jacques Rivette) M 1974 France 193 mins.
In this celebrated film, Juliet Berto & Dominique Labourier (also co-writers) are a pair of sprightly young Parisiennes who find their everyday lives pre-empted by a hallucinatory melodrama that plays out in a parallel reality. Simultaneously literary, theatrical & cinematic, Rivette's most celebrated film is at once both a comedic feminist epic & a free-wheeling study of the way we watch movies. Also stars Bulle Ogier, Barbet Schroeder and Marie-France Pisier. Presented in a brand new 35mm imported print.
JUNE 6 - 7.00pm
La belle noiseuse
(Jacques Rivette) 1991 France 236 mins M
Based on a story by Balzac & a script by Pascal Bonitzer, Rivette fashioned one of the most profound & philosophical films ever made about the relationship between an artist & his work. A famous but now inactive painter (Michel Piccoli) strives to complete a final masterpiece, inspired & questioned by the model (Emmanuelle Béart) who has become his muse. A monumental but intimate, airy & conversational work that hauntingly speaks of the end of a certain kind of artistic practice & statement. With Jane Birkin.