Stupid and pretentious, but in a good way. Emmanuelle Béart and Jane Birkin are very attractive.

Slow and methodical in the best possible way. By forcing the audience to fully immerse themselves into the process of drawing, Rivette allows us to see the characters as they see each other. We stop seeing the model as a person in her own right and she becomes merely the artist's plaything. A wonderful depiction of the creative process, and highly recommended.

686

Long and occasionally infuriating, this is still one of the best films about the process of creativity I have seen.

Interesting study of the artistic process and how it can affect those involved. Rivette has a naturalistic style with very little fuss... most of the fussiness is left to the dialogue. I felt the script was the weakest aspect of the film, with everyone talking in such an introspective, abstract manner. Otherwise, I was more engaged than I expected to be. I can't think of anything that was particularly superfluous. While I certainly wouldn't call the film a masterpiece it was pretty intriguing.

I like Rivette because his films always stay with me, like a haunting dream, long after I've seen them - even the ones I found somewhat boring while I was watching them. This one, though, hasn't really stuck with me. It's a great film, no doubt, but it doesn't haunt me. I can see why critics would embrace this as Rivette's best film, but for me it's just not as interesting as, say, Duelle or Noroit.

"Jacques Rivette's much praised Cannes Grand Prize winner vacillates between genuine insight and didactic mystique-of-the-artist bull****." - Keith Uhlich

#671

(Only seen Divertimento, the shorter version). A humble, naked and meditative film.

# 709

699