Although he’s only made six feature films
since 1991, France’s Arnaud Desplechin has become one of the
world’s most highly acclaimed film directors.
He may not be known to general audiences, but Desplechin’s uncompromising,
intelligent studies of warts-and-all characters have large festival
followings. BAMcinematek’s series "In the Company of Arnaud
Desplechin," which runs April 13 through April 17, introduces
Brooklyn audiences to a director who obviously makes his films
to please himself. If viewers want to come along for the ride,
that’s an added bonus.
Desplechin has made different types of films: a spy thriller,
a period drama, even a cinematic essay about the difficulties
of filming a play. But his two lengthy, intimate, contemporary
character studies are at the heart of his art.
Desplechin’s best film, "My Sex Life … or How I Got into
an Argument," opens the series on April 13. Three hours
long, this revealing look at several twenty-somethings trying
to discover what makes relationships work (even as their lives
are continuous demonstrations of infidelity and romantic failure)
is one of the most astonishing "epic" films ever made.
The director is fond of long takes, so many scenes play out in
what appears to be real time.
To pull this off successfully, a director has to have faith in
his performers, and Desplechin has several terrific young French
actors at his disposal. Leading man Mathieu Almaric can wring
ever finer gradations of emotion out of his immensely mobile
face, and lead actresses Emmanuelle Devos, Jeanne Balibar and
Marianne Denicourt are required to give more emotional nakedness
than most directors would request. The result is an exhilarating
ride through the all-too-real lives of people who act differently
than they talk.
When Desplechin’s latest film, "Kings and Queen," premiered
last fall at the New York Film Festival, the consensus was that
he had made another boldly philosophical treatise on relationships,
a drama as equally dazzling as "My Sex Life."
Showing on April 15 (as a sneak preview arranged by its distributor,
Wellspring, before it is released locally in May), "Kings
and Queen" has many of the Desplechin trademarks that made
"My Sex Life" so illuminating: the presence of Devos
and Almaric, the imposing length (150 minutes), and the relentless
analyzing of various lives through imaginative cross-cutting
and interplotting.
And yet "Kings and Queen" is only fitfully satisfying.
It’s actually difficult to pinpoint why, because so much of what
makes Desplechin’s work fascinating is present. Perhaps it’s
because the two stories that Desplechin brings together after
such a long buildup don’t have the same kind of resonance together
as they do apart; perhaps it’s because the movie’s title, which
refers to the main female character and the men (and young son)
in her life, seems too obviously ironic in retrospect, with none
of the nuance of the title of "My Sex Life."
Whatever the reason, "Kings and Queen" rarely reaches
the ecstatic heights of the earlier film, but it does underscore
Desplechin as a chance-taker and bold experimenter, and Desplechin’s
other films in the BAM series are further cinematic experiments.
The director’s second feature, 1992’s "The Sentinel,"
(screening April 17 along with 1991’s "The Life of the Dead,"
the director’s 54-minute debut), is a 140-minute espionage mystery
that flirts with – but never succumbs to – the cliches of the
genre. Instead it concentrates much of its energies on the psychology
of the medical student who finds himself thrust into a bewilderingly
complicated situation.
On April 14, Desplechin’s only English language film, "Esther
Kahn," will be screened, a beautifully detailed journey
back to London in the early days of the 20th century to follow
a young Jewish girl who wants so badly to become a stage actress.
So much of this ambitious film is so perfectly realized – from
Howard Shore’s most ingenious musical score to the actual physical
details of the production – that it’s too bad that "Esther
Kahn" remains a halting disappointment. Partly this is due
to the fact that, since the director is French, his limited expertise
with the English language shows up onscreen. But most damaging
is the presence of Summer Phoenix in the title role, the kind
of casting miscalculation that buries even the most well-intentioned
film.
Lastly, "Playing in the Company of Men" is scheduled
for April 16. Continuing Desplechin’s relentless experimentation,
this 2003 cinematic essay on the twin illusions of theater and
film is based on Edward Bond’s play. Using British popster Paul
Weller’s songs as a sort of audio commentary on the action, "Playing"
presents Desplechin at his most avant-garde, and shows that,
even at his less than considerable best, this immensely gifted
artist is a needed provocateur in today’s cinema.
"In the Company of Arnaud Desplechin"
runs April 13-17 at BAMcinematek, 30 Lafayette Ave. at Ashland
Place in Fort Greene. Tickets are $10, and on weekdays, $7 for
students with ID, seniors and children 12 and younger. For a
complete schedule and more information, call (718) 636-4100 or
log on to the Web site at www.bam.org.
