Philippe Garrel

[David Ehrenstein]

Here is where you can find obscure Garrel and obscure everything else.

Yes, you too can be cooler than Wes Anderson!

[Steven H]

Oh Le Lit de la Vierge is excellent. it was the fist Garrel I saw. Pierre Clementi, Zouzou, and Tina Aumont with songs by Nico.

but whats the film "about"?

Its loosely based on the life of Christ, but with all manner of odd twists and strange moments with stark black and white photography. David probably knows better than I do, but I'm thinking it was inspired by Pasolini's Gospel According to St. Matthew and Bunuel, though there are moments that remind me of Rivette, particularly Paris Belongs To Us, and especially Dreyer (minimalist sets similar to Joan, plus the scary religious aspect). I understand it was supposed to have been done under the influence of a lot of drugs, and the soundtrack is pretty intense, though not as much as The Inner Scar, I understand, but I would like to see that (I'm a fan of Desertshore.)

Oh, and Le Lit de la Vierge has one of the best opening shots of the 60s, hands down, which is ably presented on the DVD.

[David Ehrenstein]

Pasolini? More for Clementi's performance in Porcile than anything else.

I find it closer to Robert Wilson's theater than anything in cinema.

[Cold Bishop]

Here is where you can find obscure Garrel and obscure everything else.

Yes, you too can be cooler than Wes Anderson!

Are you sure? I don't see anything other than the pop compilation.

EDIT: And looking at cached web pages on Google, it appears he's removed them.

[jesus the mexican boi]

Trailer for La Cicatrice Interieure from the OOP Japanese DVD on YouTube. Looks like El Topo meets Nico.

[David Ehrenstein]

Not like El Topo at all. It's very, VERY special.

[jesus the mexican boi]

Not like El Topo at all. It's very, VERY special.

This struck me as superficially similar.



Desertshore remains one of my favorite albums. I'd never seen these clips before, so it was like the album cover come alive.

[David Ehrenstein]

The little boy leading the horse is Ari -- her son by Alain Delon.

[Macintosh]

David, can you confirm or deny the rumor that Le Revelateur was made while the entire cast and crew was trippin on LSD? Also hard to believe that Garell was only 20 when he made that.

[David Ehrenstein]

David, can you confirm or deny the rumor that Le Revelateur was made while the entire cast and crew was trippin on LSD? Also hard to believe that Garell was only 20 when he made that.

I'm sure they were on something. And yes he was 20.

[jesus the mexican boi]

The little boy leading the horse is Ari -- her son by Alain Delon.

David, I just read your FILM: 1984 book and was especially interested in the section on Garrel. La Cicatrice Interieure has been restored, hasn't it? Do you know who has the rights and if there's any chance of this seeing a DVD release? Interesting that you bring up Bunuel's La Voie Lactee made the same year and its Christian iconography, since Pierre Clementi was in both -- and appeared as the Devil in the Bunuel film.

I also appreciated your descriptions of the Jean Seberg film. Very evocative.

[David Ehrenstein]

David, I just read your FILM: 1984 book and was especially interested in the section on Garrel. La Cicatrice Interieure has been restored, hasn't it? Do you know who has the rights and if there's any chance of this seeing a DVD release? Interesting that you bring up Bunuel's La Voie Lactee made the same year and its Christian iconography, since Pierre Clementi was in both -- and appeared as the Devil in the Bunuel film.

Merci Beaucoup! I saw the restored print last year here in L.A. at a UCLA screening. A laser disc of the film was produced in Japan back in the laserdisc era and a friend made me a DVD copy, but none exists for the U.S. market -- a circumstance I hope someone will try to rectify, hint, hint ! (hello Criterion!)

Clementi is very much an actor-auteur, especially in the 60's working for such presumably different directors as Visconti (The Leopard), Bertolucci (Partner), Pasolini (Porcile), Bunuel (Belle de Jour, La Voie Lactee), Glauber Rocha (Severed Heads) and Garrel.

He played Christ in Le Lit de la Vierge, by the way. In La Cicatrice Interieure he's closer to Siegfried.

[David Ehrenstein]

David didn't Clementi come to a very sad end? Like Mark Frechette? (well kinda.)

Well he died of AIDS -- which is an invariably sad end.

[jesus the mexican boi]

Well he died of AIDS -- which is an invariably sad end.

Did he? Everything I saw mentioned complications of liver cancer. Not to say he didn't have it.

Au revoir, space monkey.

[David Ehrenstein]

Well he died of AIDS -- which is an invariably sad end.

Did he? Everything I saw mentioned complications of liver cancer. Not to say he didn't have it.

Au revoir, space monkey.

James Toback, who directed him in Exposed, told me about this just last week.

One must read obits with care, and more than a grain of salt -- just like at the beginning of the epidemic.

People are still dying of AIDS. Just more slowly.

Beware "heart failure" (not a cause of death ever -- just an indication that you're dead) and "liver cancer."

[David Ehrenstein]

Pneumonia was in the early years of the epidemic, prior to this discovery that it was a specific strand of pneumonia. That's fairly under control these days.

Or at least until the next generation of the HIV-infected goes into full bloom.

Hibiscus was an early casualty.

[thirtyframesasecond]

L'Enfant secret

Directed by Philippe Garrel and winner of the Prix Jean Vigo in 1982.

The boyfriend of my friend's sister was in this film - his name is Xuan Lindenmeyer. She would like to source a copy. However the IMDB record suggests no DVD details, and a quick look on the net suggests the same. Would anyone have any ideas of the best way to search for copies of this film? Also, has anyone actually seen the film and has thoughts upon it?

Cheers

[Oedipax]

30fps, I don't know of any official DVD version of L'Enfant secret circulating, nor have I seen this particular Garrel film, but he's a filmmaker that I hold in the highest esteem based on the films I've been lucky enough to see. There is a copy circulating online with Japanese subtitles, I'm not sure if it's from a VHS or laserdisc or what.

There's also this scene on YouTube - wonderful clip...

[fred]

The copy of L'Enfant secret with Japanese subs is undoubtedly from the (now out of print?) dvd Uplink released in Japan. It's an incredible film. One of Garrel's greatest.

[mingus]

It's been two years since the screening of the restored print of "La cicatrice interieure" in Cannes and not even a discussion regarding an upcoming DVD release.
Am I the only one interested in seeing it again together with "Les hautes solitudes" on an extra filled disc....?

It's the the same call for infos as in the Eustache threat, any little news is welcome !

[David Ehrenstein]

Certainly not. There's tons of teriffic Garrel out there waiting for video. Some of its available in bootleg editions from Pimpadelic.com

[Kinsayder]

Pimp-a-what-now? All I'm coming up with are links to a thrash metal band.

[David Ehrenstein]

Here

[Ovader]

Le berceau de cristal (The Crystal Cradle) will be screened at the Tate Modern Starr Auditorium this Saturday. This is part of the Paradise Now! Essential French Avant-garde Cinema, 1890–2008 retrospective. Too bad I am in Canada and unable to attend these events. Anybody seen Le berceau de cristal and offer some insight of this film and how it compares with his other works?

After reading over this thread and sampling extracts from YouTube I definitely have to dive into Garrel's work thoroughly. The Euro - Canadian exchange is too large for my pockets at the present time but at least there are some DVDs for a future purchase.

His new film La Frontière de l'aube is completed but I can't find any details of the production. That is for the new films thread anyway.

[David Ehrenstein]

Le Berceau de Crystal is a Nico portrait. (The title is a heroin reference.) She can be heard singing "Henry Hudson" in it. Anita Pallenberg and Margarethe Clementi also appear. There are no "characters" and there is certainly no "plot."