Va Savoir
Screening: 14th February 2004
France/Italy/Germany 2001 (subtitles)
Directed by Jacques Rivette
Leading players ~ Jeanne Balibar, Sergio Castellitto, Jacques Bonnaffé.
Synopsis
Camille plays in Pirandello’s Come tu mi vuoi - “As you want me” - with her jealous lover Ugo. In this role she returns to Paris after 3 years on tour in Italy. Haunted there by memories of her ex, Pierre, she has trouble remembering her lines. She is tempted to seek him out, though he is now married; Ugo on the other hand claims to be searching the archives for a Goldoni manuscript - and is being tempted by Dominique, the daughter of the supposed owner of the manuscript; but her stepbrother Arthur steals a ring from Pierre’s wife Sonia.The intrigue culminates in each character’s involvement with two other characters - and a comic duel between Ugo and Pierre.
This celebration of art and life, romance and reality comes to a happy end which in some ways seems a bit contrived, but actually works precisely because the characters as actors (or actors as characters) are ultimately accepting and compassionate towards each other.
* * * * * *
If you’re looking for an introduction to this New Wave director’s themes and concerns, you could do no better than to taste this one: it’s brief and light when you compare some of his other works (for example Out One 13 hours, summarised as Out One: Spectre 255 minutes....). It’s a film that coheres as a narrative, written with rigour and filmed with self-discipline, resulting in something so lively, funny, sympathetic and charming that you don’t feel its length. It employs a play within the film, with Pirandello supplying not only the play but also perhaps some of the film’s most moving ideas.
