Céline and Julie Go Boating

Céline et Julie vont en bateau

France

1974

193 Min

Color

1.37:1

French

Currently 4.4/5 Stars.
1
2
3
4
5

SCR Jacques Rivette, Eduardo de Gregorio, Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier, Marie-France Pisier

CAST Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier, Marie-France Pisier, Barbet Schroeder, Nathalie Asnar, Marie-Thérèse Saussure, Philippe Clévenot, Anne Zamire, Jean Douchet, Adèle Taffetas, Monique Clément, Jérôme Richard, Michael Graham, Jean-Marie Sénia

SOUND Paul Lainé, Elvire Lerner

Locarno (Competition): Special Prize of the Jury, New York, Cannes (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs)

Synopsis

Celine (Juliet Berto), a magician, and Julie (Dominique Labourier), a Librarian, meet in Montmartre and wind up sharing the same flat, bed, finance, clothes, identity and imagination. Soon, thanks to a magic sweet, they find themselves spectators, then participants, in a Henry James-inspired ‘film-within-the-film’ – a melodrama unfolding in a mysterious suburban house with the ‘Phantom Ladies Over Paris’ (Bulle Ogier and Marie-France Pisier), a sinister man (Barbet Schroeder) and his child. The atmosphere, however, is more Lewis Carroll, with Juliet Berto and Dominique Labourier as twin Alices. The four main actresses improvised their own dialogue in collaboration with Rivette and scriptwriter Eduardo de Gregorio. –BFI

Director

Jacques Rivette

Jacques Rivette was one of the central figures in the French New Wave (Nouvelle Vague) movement. Along with Jean-Luc Godard, Rivette was considered the most experimental director of the movement, which his work exemplified. Like many other contemporaries, Rivette had a background in film theory, and he was also a film critic. His work involved a complex interweaving of documentary, fiction, and improvisation. His stories progressed in unconventional ways, and were often quite long. As a result, his work has seldom been shown. Rivette’s film career has spanned seven decades, from Aux Quatre Coins in 1949 to the romantic comedy Va Savoir in 2001. —allmovie guide

Wall

Displaying 4 of 28 wall posts.

see all

Rohit Apte

25Jan12

Giggling girls apart, this film is fascinating.

film_lies101

27Dec11

A case where the parts are better than the sum. After watching the last 20 or so minutes, maybe its the other way round. In any case, it a wonderful representation of experimental cinema at its lightest, most playful, and fun. The characters are charming and easy to relate to on some level. The only flaw really s the length, though I am huge fan of Inland Empire. I will be checking out other works by Rivette.

tinahassannia

29Oct11

Rivette's meaningful exploration into questions of character, performance and diegesis are only rewarded more significance by Berto and Labourier's delightful romps.

pak

7Oct11

C'est Mulholland Drive tourné chez ma grand-mère avec mes cousines. Épique. 99% des films d'aujourd'hui brilleront par leur pusillanisme comparé à cette belle oeuvre.