Nearing the end of ICM's best of 1969 movie poll,I took a look at titles which I may have overlooked for viewing. Becoming aware of her being one of the few female film makers of the Left Bank/French New Wave after seeing the superb Hiroshima Mon Amour,I was intrigued to find she had made a film in '69,which led to me finding out what Marguerite Duras asks to destroy.
View on the film:
Made for TV, writer/director Marguerite Duras & cinematographer Jean Penzer offer little sign of commercial limitations being placed, with the locations being coated in stark minimalism,barely lit by the thick lines of black shadows. Bringing her own stage show to screen, Duras keeps everything firmly stage-bound via the camera being firmly placed down for minutes at a time,which does allow for an intriguing atmosphere to build of see "live" performances. Left in limbo by the single location of a hotel and the grounds around it, Michael Lonsdale and Daniel Gélin give very good performances as Stein and Alione,with them each balancing between their characters holding secrets back,and a mystified look over the static hold of the hotel,and over what she has asked to be destroyed.
View on the film:
Made for TV, writer/director Marguerite Duras & cinematographer Jean Penzer offer little sign of commercial limitations being placed, with the locations being coated in stark minimalism,barely lit by the thick lines of black shadows. Bringing her own stage show to screen, Duras keeps everything firmly stage-bound via the camera being firmly placed down for minutes at a time,which does allow for an intriguing atmosphere to build of see "live" performances. Left in limbo by the single location of a hotel and the grounds around it, Michael Lonsdale and Daniel Gélin give very good performances as Stein and Alione,with them each balancing between their characters holding secrets back,and a mystified look over the static hold of the hotel,and over what she has asked to be destroyed.