Claire Denis retrospective
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CHOCOLAT (1988)- Denis' debut feature is still awesome. The big screen only magnifies the film's exquisite feel for its African setting, an immeasurably huge place with pitch-black nights into which characters sometimes disappear. Also strange to see Isaach de Bankole in a stoic role here, in light of his energetic turns in recent Jarmusch films. This is the kind of film that you allow to wash over you, with its mysteries only revealing themselves post-viewing. Rating: ***1/2.

MAN NO RUN (1989)- This film is a documentary account of Les Tetes Brulees' French tour. The band was (is?) a lively African rock combo, and their jangling, bouncy music seems a little startling to late-80s French audiences, but the film focuses more on the band members themselves as they experience Europe for the first time. One highlight is a visit to Mont Blanc, for which some of the band members are insufficiently dressed. The real high point of the film, however, is an extended conversation centered around a story one band member tells about an ancestor taking apart a radio to find the man inside who made it talk. The conversation is humorous at first, then becomes a little tedious, and then is sustained for so long that it becomes hilarious again, as the other band members point out holes in the story. The screening was from a video print, which was understandable since there aren't any English-subtitled film prints in the US, but a little sad nonetheless, since Denis' films tend to use color exquisitely , and the performance sequences in particular could have benefitted from more vividness of color. No matter, though- this was lots of fun, and could go on the same double bill with LENINGRAD COWBOYS GO AMERICA. Rating: ***.

TROUBLE EVERY DAY (2001)- it got even better the second time. Once one gets past the original viewing (and the surrounding hype over its gore), this film works as a minor-keyed meditation on our primal instincts. Gallo's performance here is surprisingly delicate, especially once we know what ails him, and the film's structure, while confusing on the first go-around, underlines his character arc at second glance. Plus the Tindersticks score, nothing if not funereal makeout music, is still awesome. Rating: ***1/2.

U.S. GO HOME (1994)- much like MAN NO RUN, I was only able to see this on projected video (for reasons relating to music rights), but it was gorgeous all the same. Much like Assayas' COLD WATER and Techine's WILD REEDS, this film was part of the "All the Boys and Girls in Their Time" series, in which prominent French filmmakers were asked to make films about their youth, utilizing songs taken from a specified selection. Denis, who has always had a strong affinity for music, scores (no pun intended) again here, offering up a look at the important role of American and British pop music in sixties French society, even as they protested against U.S. dominance on the political and military fronts. Recurring Denis star Gregoire Colin looks positively embryonic here, boiling down his teenage awkwardness in one gawky nobody's-looking bedroom dance. The film's female leads, Alice Houri as the dark Martine and Jessica Tharaud as the redhead Marlene, are so assured here (each in her own way) that it's kind of a shame their careers haven't amounted to more- Houri in particular is reminiscent of the preternaturally wise but still anxious girls who turn up in Rohmer movies. Anyhoo, this "All the Boys..." series is three for three thusfar, and I'm curious about the others, though as I understand it I'm not likely to see them anytime soon. Pity. Rating: ***1/2.

NO FEAR NO DIE (1990)- this film's best scenes focus on the friendship that emerges between the sensible Dah (Isaach de Bankole) and his friend Jocelyn (Alex Descas), who is gradually losing touch with the world. These scenes are effective for the way they illustrate the type of friendship-of-necessity that can emerge between two strangers in a foreign country. Bankole is awesome as always, but it's the too-often-wasted Descas who really makes an impression, as he finds he is no longer able to steel himself to the accepted brutality around him. Rating: ***.

I CAN'T SLEEP (1994)- in some ways, this feels like Denis' most conventionally-plotted film, but in others it's as unconventional as anything I've seen from her. Of course, when the central plot strand of the film is a murder mystery, there are only so many directions one can go- we have to meet the killer(s), we have to witness some of the crimes, and the killer must be brought to justice (or not, if the film is perverse). Denis doesn't so much finds new wrinkles in this formula as to cut out the stuff she doesn't need- we never see police investigating the murders, for example. Instead, we see the world in which the killers live, and the characters with whom they interact. Of greatest interest are a Lithuanian girl (Katerina Gobuleva) trying to make a new life in Paris, and a man (Alex Descas) who dreams of starting a new, simpler life in Martinique. The film has less to say about murder than about the blinkered view that many people have to take in the city, in which even the worst troubles faced by others (in this case, the murders) are of less importance than the day-to-day problems we ourselves face. Rating: ***.

JACQUES RIVETTE, THE WATCHMAN (1990)- fascinating documentary portrait of the great New Wave filmmaker. The major reason it works is because Denis isn't content to focus on his work, but looks more broadly at the mental processes that lead to such distinctive films. The clips (usually from hard-to-find stuff) are pretty great, but I most fondly remember the unforced conversations between Rivette and critic Serge Daney, particularly the languid late-night bull session of the second section. Also of interest is an early discussion of an idea of the artist and his muse that predates LA BELLE NOISEUSE. Rating: ***.

BEAU TRAVAIL (1999)- nothing has really changed about my perception of this film, but it just feels more awesome a few years on than it ever did before. As much as anything else the film works as a strange modern-dance piece, with Denis' highly original use of music meshing with Agnes Godard's cinematography and the choreography of the soldiers' bodies under the African sun (if Rosenbaum can call ABC AFRICA a musical then this qualifies too). Denis Lavant, a towering physical performer, is perfect in the lead role. Rating: ****.

A PROPOS DE NICE, LA SUITE (1995)- the problem with a lot of these omnibus films is that they aren't very well-defined. While this is supposed to be about half a dozen or so filmmakers riffing on Vigo's 1930 short A PROPOS DE NICE, there's little thematic consistency between the various shorts we see (we don't even get a full look at the inspiration). Denis' piece is one of the better ones, as her camera follows Gregoire Colin as he searches for a man he's supposed to kill- his singleminded mission contrasts with his laid-back surroundings as he makes his way through a colorful carnival parade. Most of the other shorts aren't as good though: Kiarostami goes the self reflexive route, showing a filmmaker trying to figure out an angle on the real-life project; Catherine Breillat shows a trio of old people engaged in an impassioned and closed-minded bitch session; Raymond Depardon contributes a listless piece in which a woman reflects on her misspent youth in voiceover as the camera takes in shots of the Promenade; Pavel Lungin focuses the Russian population of the city; and Costa-Gavras' piece is a pretentious document of a political speech in which the sound is muted to focus on reaction shots. Luckily, the best is saved for last, with Raul Ruiz's bizarre and convoluted short about a immigrant stalking a suicidal former actress around the city. This short (and Denis, to a lesser extent) made the preceding tedium almost worth it.