A failed escape through transgression and transcendence--in body, spirit, and mind, respectively, and somewhat interchangeably--is the common ending of my favorite Rivette films:
L'amour fou,
Out 1, and Céline and Julie Go Boating. The transgression is frequently architectural, as there are metaphysical implications to Rivette's well physically-grounded spaces: tearing down boundaries (physical and otherwise) in L'amour fou's wall-breaking; being sheltered and locked up in both the restrictive walls of a haunted house and the deterministic plot that takes place inside of it in Céline and Julie (and then breaking out of the former by breaking out of the latter--even while the structure of house and plot, as in L'amour fou, is all that enables their de-struction); and, in the magnum opus, Out 1, finally escaping out of houses and structures altogether, only to face a mostly unseen sea that serves as a final boundary (the ocean, usually, as in Godard, shorthand for infinity and transcendence) that can't be crossed. And so, in all three, the characters return to banal living, which at least still allows for some possibilities in Céline and Julie.
The metaphysical implications of physical space I get from Feuillade as well: it's always possible that a world beyond the doors in every shot is a very, very different one from the bourgeois masquerading going on inside. Characters are trapped in societal roles--that, after all, is the great fun for both Feuillade and Rivette (and Rivette's other hero, Renoir)--and trapped in society's spaces, and while these enable plots and plotting, there is always the urge to escape, even, even most of all, for the lecherous evildoers themselves. A few pairings with shots from Feuillade's Judex:
Above--an escape in Judex; below--blowjob in L'amour fou:
On the beach in the endings of Judex and Out 1:
Two tragic endings: not reviving--and, as Thomas's private comedy, reviving:
***
I will be changing my name, informally at first, legally in time, to take my middle name as my last: David Phelps. I will also be changing my email: davidpphelps at gmail.com. Send me emails! My personality's not changing yet; I like attention.
On the beach in the endings of Judex and Out 1:
Two tragic endings: not reviving--and, as Thomas's private comedy, reviving:
3 comments:
David,
Another terrific post at one of the most consistently fascinating film blogs. I look forward to your (eventual?) book on Rivette.
One quick question - what's the source for the Rivette screen caps? I'm asking because I'd love to track down a copy (or better - attend a screening) of L'Amour Fou and Out 1, having unfortunately missed both at the Moving Image Museum retrospective a couple of years back.
Eff a book on Rivette, you are the man for a book on Rivette-Feuillade. Also, I can only allow you to change your name to David Phelps if you also start writing crime fiction under that name.
Thanks guys--and done. The books will be one and the same: The Mystery of Jacques Rivette: A Blood-Curdling Thriller and Critical Study. By David Phelps.
Anyone else interested in my screen caps, email me.
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