Thursday, October 02, 2008

Reminder for the day: Saturday, Eustache begins at PFA.

by Ryland Walker Knight


don't look away

[Note the words at the bottom of the frame]

This Saturday, the 4th, sees the beginning of PFA's Jean Eustache series, No Wave, with a screening of his most famous film, an epic of hurt, or so I'm told, called La Maman et la putain. Back in February, on his podcast, Mick LaSalle recommended the Bay Area go see the film and the theatre sold out. I don't think this blog post can drum up quite that much interest, but, heck, we try. For some other words to strike up your imagination, read Rosenbaum here. Also of note, my friend Julien Guillemet told me last week that Numéro Zéro is hilarious, sordid, a must-see; of course it sounds great, as Juliet Clark has described it: "In a string of long, stationary takes, the camera watches over Eustache’s shoulder while he pours countless glasses of whiskey and [his grandmother] Odette tells the stories of her life. A number of her themes resonate with those of Eustache’s films: cruelty, male philandering, the Rosière festival of Pessac. Numéro Zéro is a return to origins—of cinema and of the self—and an experiment in narration, both restrained and deeply personal." It shows Sunday, October 12th, at 7pm. I hope to see all of the films, time and energy providing, and to write some words along the way through the month.

Monday Morning UPDATE: Why was I afraid? As much as Leaud's Alexandre is a pain, and as irritating as he can get, the film is wholly pleasurable, somehow. Part of it, no doubt, is Bernadette Lafont. More soon.

2 comments:

  1. To be fair, I bet Mick LaSalle's recommendation was not the sole trigger for the sell-out crowd. I hear that the PFA's collection print of the Mother and the Whore may contain a scene or two not found in the generally circulating prints. If enough cinephiles caught wind of that, it can also assist in explaining why the attendance was in such marked contrast to the SFMOMA screening I attended last December, which had plenty of seating available.

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  2. A good point, indeed. Guess we's lucky in Berk-lay.

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