Le Revelateur

Philippe Garrel’s first film was made when he was 23 as an oblique response to the political crisis of May 1968 in France, triggered by student revolt. The images are austerely symbolic representations of the older generation’s traumatic reaction to conflict. They suggest a feeling of collective psychosis. In the opening shot a young child sits on a bunk; soon a man and a woman enter the frame but fail to connect the child, leaving him alone. Throughout the narrative these three characters seek to connect but are continuously disembodied within the frame. The beautiful expressionistic black and white cinematography of this piece is enrapturing. The silent track makes the images even more haunting and oppressive. At various points the presence behind the camera is directly invoked by the actors, presumably with the intention of implicating the audience in the landscape. Cast: Bernadette Lafont, Laurent Terzieff, Stanislaus Robiol. Please note: silent film, no audio track.