L’ombre des femmes par by Philippe Garrel (review)

Laguionie. Le mystère qui entoure ce personnage incite le spectateur à explorer cette lacune narrative par un travail imaginaire qui prolonge le visionnement du film. On peut lire ce film comme une histoire de bandits et de super-héros—il tente de légitimer sa place dans ce canon en multipliant les référence aux classiques du genre—ou le lire comme une histoire de lutte contre la maladie où le film offre à Léo, du moins allégoriquement, la possibilité de guérir et grandir; les thèmes de l’enfermement et de l’imagination libératrice le rapprochent du film Le scaphandre et le papillon. Les grandes émotions du film sont toutes liées au récit de la maladie, avec un monde enfantin fait de tendresse, de liberté et de courage. La simplicité du dessin, la beauté des couleurs et effets de lumière, et la vision originale des lieux iconiques de New York (Times Square, Manhattan, la statue de la Liberté) font oublier les lourdeurs de l’intrigue. California State University, San Marcos Marion Geiger Garrel, Philippe, réal. L’ombre des femmes. Int. Clotilde Courau, Stanislas Merhar, Lena Paugam. SBS, 2015. . As Pierre and Manon’s relationship takes center stage, the spectator quickly comprehends two significant aspects of the rapport. First, the couple lives and works in inexplicable harmony, and, second, Manon is so entirely devoted to Pierre and his life’s work that her identity and ambitions cease to exist. In L’ombre des femmes, Garrel follows the life and work of a young couple as they progress through affairs, the destruction of their relationship, and eventual reconciliation. Pierre (Merhar) and Manon (Courau) are filming a documentary about the life of an old resistance fighter, Henri. They are seen filming conversations, cutting and compiling scenes, and discussing the most important parts of Henri’s life. In many ways Pierre and Manon serve as mirror images of Henri and his wife. This is nowhere as clear as in the last images of Henri and his wife in the film. The audience watches the two walk into a cathedral, is informed by the voiceover that, a year later, Henri has died, and then watches as Pierre and Manon enter the same cathedral through the same door to attend the funeral. It is shortly after this scene that Manon informs Pierre that Henri was a fake. He invented all the stories that he had recounted to them. Henri’s fictitious life serves as a reminder to Pierre and Manon that they too have been leading fraudulent lives since they separated. When Pierre realizes that Henri’s lies have destroyed his work on the resistance, Pierre also realizes that his own lies about his sentiments for Manon have destroyed their relationship. After this final parallel between Pierre and Henri, Pierre confronts and admits the truth. He loves Manon deeply, profoundly, and above all else. The proclamation of his true sentiments is all that is needed to rekindle their romance. Aside from the reflective imagery present between the two couples, an additional captivating aspect of Garrel’s L’ombre des 216 FRENCH REVIEW 90.4 Reviews 217 femmes is the mise en abyme of documentary film characteristics. While Pierre and Manon are filming and compiling a documentary on Henri, the resistance fighter, Garrel is filming and creating a documentary on the lives of Pierre and Manon, the seemingly love-struck couple. The film takes on many characteristics of a documentary itself. One of the most notable similarities is the lack of music, either in the background or in the diegetic reality of the film. The only sounds the spectator hears throughout the majority of the film is from the characters, such as crinkling of paper, and the rustling of clothes as people walk. The cars driving past in the background even create a sharp contrast to the heavy weight of silence in the film. L’ombre des femmes is an intriguing film, as it closely follows the rise, inevitable demise, and surprising reconstruction of a relationship. Despite the occasional slow progress of the storyline, the black-and-white throwback to a previous era, and the aggressive nature...