Even ignoring the fact that most of this is taken up by Rivette’s signature sapphic women dressing up in very pretty outfits (RAHHHH BULLE OGIER IN SUITS RAHHHHH), this rewatch of Duelle only deepened my relationship with Rivette—a man whom I had already considered to be one of my main influences as an artist.
It is the manner Rivette utilizes space, and more importantly, proximity to construct conversations that I find most striking. Nearly every conversation is a dance of some kind—the emptiness of the urbanized environments informs how power is exchanged as these bodies continuously find themselves drifting into each other’s orbit. The naturalistic, near-documentarian approach to Rivette’s filmic language is constantly in dialogue with his theatrical ideals; the collision manifests into an unparalleled fluidity in the text’s formal execution.
Duelle is a work of dialectical dissection where mythological entities collide with the political realities of their earthly environment; where light and shadow collide into one another, creating illusions that form yet another dialectic with the physical realm those illusions observe; where the very basis of identity is contrasted against the emptiness of the individual.
To me, the film represents the divinity of cinema itself, simultaneously being dependent upon the physical world yet…. Destroying it in the development of a brand new understanding of that very world’s structures. 2 plus 2 no longer make four. All walls collapse in light of the camera’s manifested faith towards internal experience.
The formal construction obsessively serves the text’s dialectical demands. I don’t believe that there’s any dialogue scene that isn’t built around the contrasting ideologies and identities of two leading figures. It is simply awe-inspiring… is this my favorite Rivette film? Will every Rivette film be my favorite after I watch it? THIS IS HOW I WANT TO DIRECT DIALOGUE! It’s so dynamic and engaging and layered and thematically centred and RAHHHHHHHH I love Rivette so much! I love his silly little stories about pretty girls being pretty! I’m literally bouncing with joy and excitement as I write this. I’m so stupid… AHHHHHH!!! I love cinema!!! AHHHHH!!! I’m gonna be a filmmakerrrrrr 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
I really am just a whimsical little creature.
Even ignoring the fact that most of this is taken up by Rivette’s signature sapphic women dressing up in very pretty outfits (RAHHHH BULLE OGIER IN SUITS RAHHHHH), this rewatch of Duelle only deepened my relationship with Rivette—a man whom I had already considered to be one of my main influences as an artist.
It is the manner Rivette utilizes space, and more importantly, proximity to construct conversations that I find most striking. Nearly every conversation is a dance of some kind—the emptiness of the urbanized environments informs how power is exchanged as these bodies continuously find themselves drifting into each other’s orbit. The naturalistic, near-documentarian approach to Rivette’s filmic language is constantly in dialogue with his theatrical ideals; the collision manifests into an unparalleled fluidity in the text’s formal execution.
Duelle is a work of dialectical dissection where mythological entities collide with the political realities of their earthly environment; where light and shadow collide into one another, creating illusions that form yet another dialectic with the physical realm those illusions observe; where the very basis of identity is contrasted against the emptiness of the individual.
To me, the film represents the divinity of cinema itself, simultaneously being dependent upon the physical world yet…. Destroying it in the development of a brand new understanding of that very world’s structures. 2 plus 2 no longer make four. All walls collapse in light of the camera’s manifested faith towards internal experience.
The formal construction obsessively serves the text’s dialectical demands. I don’t believe that there’s any dialogue scene that isn’t built around the contrasting ideologies and identities of two leading figures. It is simply awe-inspiring… is this my favorite Rivette film? Will every Rivette film be my favorite after I watch it? THIS IS HOW I WANT TO DIRECT DIALOGUE! It’s so dynamic and engaging and layered and thematically centred and RAHHHHHHHH I love Rivette so much! I love his silly little stories about pretty girls being pretty! I’m literally bouncing with joy and excitement as I write this. I’m so stupid… AHHHHHH!!! I love cinema!!! AHHHHH!!! I’m gonna be a filmmakerrrrrr 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
I really am just a whimsical little creature.
