Arnaud des Pallières
France | 1993 | 15 min
Language : French
A voice speaks of the loneliness of the artist. A nameless man drives a car, speaks of a vocation, his approach to his metier, his difficulties, his failure. He then gives a cue to a mysterious woman (his muse?). Voices on and off build a fragile edifice in which ‘I’ and ‘he’ get muddled. The present is transformed into the past. The individual becomes a multitude, writing a labyrinth; and des Pallières launches into filmmaking.
A voice is heard before the ‘film’ begins. It says: “The ancients were by no means unenlightened regarding the phenomenon of loneliness. They were well aware that the solitary man is no longer one, but two in one, that intercourse between me and myself begins the moment intercourse between me and my fellow humans is interrupted.” A nameless man appears on the screen. He drives a car, speaks of a vocation, his approach to his metier, his difficulties, his failure, the loss of all inspiration. He then gives a cue to a woman whose role remains uncertain in the developing interaction. A title card – “the old story of the poet and the muse” – confuses the issue. Voices on and off come and go. ‘I’ and ‘he’ get muddled. Present is transformed into past. The individual becomes a multitude, writing a labyrinth in which beginning and end are simply a play of mirrors, infinitely repeating the same action. Before after. Between the two, des Pallières launches into filmmaking like a person playing solitaire.
Luciano Barisone (Translation BMP Translations)
