Jacques Rivette Recut: Iconic Films ‘Out 1: Spectre’ and ‘La Belle Noiseuse: Divertimento’ on the silver screen

Description

The films of New Wave director Jacques Rivette (1928 – 2016) raise questions around engagement, authenticity and improvisation. Rivette’s oeuvre–from his first short films in the 1950s, to his last feature film in 2009–testifies to his interest in experimentation and exploring alternative ways in which films can be conceived and produced.

Out 1: Spectre (France, 1972) is the shortened, 253-minute-long version of Rivette’s legendary thirteen-hour film serial Out 1: Noli Me Tangere. The original film was only shown in its entirety once in a weekend-long premiere, with over 300 people attending the screenings. The shortened version took almost a year to edit. The overall premise of the film revolves around an ensemble of characters spurred into play by a conspiracy – some characters are involved in theatre, some are playing versions of others in offstage life, and others are part of a secret group whose alleged dangerous existence is hinted via its cryptic messages.

La Belle Noiseuse: Divertimento (France, 1995) is the shorter, two-hour version of the 1991 Cannes-winning masterpiece La Belle Noiseuse. The film tells the story of a reclusive master painter, Frenhofer, who lives quietly with his wife, a former model and his muse, in rural France. Inspired by his meeting with a young artist’s girlfriend, Frenhofer restarts his long-abandoned masterpiece, one which had begun as a portrait of his wife.