A FEW WORDS ON FOUR NIGHTS OF A DREAMER

This is a summarized version of a talk I participated in on Robert Bresson's Four Nights Of A Dreamer at Video Revival in Brooklyn.

Enjoy...

The motivation of Robert Bresson's characters seem predetermined. It's as if they're essentially going through the motions without any say or input on their own lives or actions. Bresson is kind of like a cinematic puppet master in a sense. While it's totally understandable that this would be off-putting & unappealing to some folks (Robert Bresson does have his share of detractors) it is intriguing to me and quite a few of the filmmakers he has directly inspired (Four Nights Of A Dreamer is a loose adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s White Nights so it's rooted in influence right off the bat).

The predetermined aspect in Robert Bresson's films were in full force from the late 60's (Une Femme Douce) until his final film (L'argent). That's not to say Bresson hadn't found his footing prior to Une Femme Douce (this is evident in The Diary Of A Country Priest which, in my opinion, is when he finally found his signature style), but it was cemented in the late 60's. Four Nights Of A Dreamer is a prime example of this. Besides the basic plot (two strangers fall in love after one saves the other from a suicide attempt), we're given expressionless faces (even in scenarios concerning intimacy and suicide attempts), emotionless/apathetic gestures (at the start of the film our hitchhiking protagonist is asked where he is going and he throws up his arms, with an expressionless look, as if to say; “I Don't know and I don't really care).

Four Nights Of A Dreamer / Slacker
(In Slacker, the character on the right kills his mother like it was a menial chore. This is very Bressionian)

Like I already said - lack of emotion & spirit could seem unappealing to some people (especially in cinema) but at the same time life can break us and make us apathetic & emotionless. Again – it's understandable if some audiences want nothing to do with that. Movies are supposed to be an escape for some people. The films of Bresson are a reflection of society to some degree and no one wants to spend their time watching their lives on the big screen or on a television. Some people want a momentary escape to make them forget about their (very real) Bressonian problems from time to time (living life set to an alarm clock, boredom, mindless commuting, etc). But at the same time that aspect of life shouldn't go ignored.

Bresson's influence knows no bounds especially in the world of french arthouse cinema. Take Michael Haneke for example. All of his Austrian films deal with the same problems in Bresson's films (depression, broken spirits, existentialism, predetermined lives, etc). Haneke's first three films look like stories from an extended Bresson universe.
In The Seventh Continent we see a family live life in the same predetermined depressed fashion (until they snap out of it and handle in their own way). Both The Seventh Continent & Four Nights Of A Dreamer show the same pointless/banal things we do on a daily basis...

Four Nights Of A Dreamer / The Seventh Continent

The same could be said about Hal Hartley who considers Bresson to be one of his favorite filmmakers (Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar is one of his favorite movies). The opening scene of The Unvelievable Truth is a clear homage to the opening of Four Nights Of A Dreamer in which both protagonists are aimlessly/hopelessly hitchhiking somewhere...

Four Nights Of A Dreamer / The Unbelievable Truth

Bruno Dumont, who at one point was nicknamed “The Son Of Bresson” due to the similar themes & acting style in his earlier movies, regularly borrows the same scenes from the films of Bresson as well...

Four Nights Of A Dreamer / Hors Satan
Four Nights Of A Dreamer / Slack Bay

I'd also be remiss if I didnt bring up Leos Carax's possible reference to Four Nights Of Dreamer in The Lovers On Bridge (both movies are shot in some of the exact same locations)...

Four Nights Of A Dreamer / The Lovers On The Bridge

Perhaps Four Nights inspired Leos Carax earlier than The Lovers On The Bridge...

Four Nights Of A Dreamer / Boy Meets Girl
(Both films start with pivotal scenes on a bridge and deal with tough break ups. The delivery of dialogue in Boy Meets Girl is also very Bressonian)

there's also Soderbergh's Solaris...

Four Nights Of A Dreamer / Solaris

Four Nights Of A Dreamer / Solaris

It should be noted that all the movies compared to Four Nights Of A Dreamer in this piece have similar plot points & scenarios.
In Soderbergh’s Solaris, Chris Kelvin’s wife tries to commit suicide like Marthe at the start of Four Nights Of A Dreamer (and the characters in The Seventh Continent are successful in their suicide).
Both “Emmet” (The Unbelievable Truth) & Michele (The Lovers On The Bridge) refuse to accept that their respective relationship is over much like Marthe.

So while some of these comparisons could be perceived as vague at first glance, there is some depth & validity behind these images...

LET THE SUNSHINE IN

I’m not into romcoms but the idea of Claire Denis directing one intrigued me (prior to seeing Let The Sunshine In I read quite a few early reviews that described it as such and I kind of have to agree). If you’re familiar with my site and/or my personal movie preferences then it should come as no surprise that I’ll see anything directed by Claire Denis. She’s my favorite filmmaker. One of the reasons she is one of my favorites is because after 40 years of filmmaking (in various capacities) she continues to step outside of her comfort zone. Not completely but enough where it should be recognized. Every one of her films has the same sheen/layer of “Claire Denis-ism” (which is something I like) but she dabbles in different genres from time to time. Trouble Every Day was her horror film. I Can’t Sleep was her murder mystery/noir. Chocolat & U.S. Go Home were warped personal journals/semi-autobiographical tales from her childhood. Friday Night was Claire Denis’ foray in to romance (that’s not to say romance & sensuality don’t flow throughout a large majority of her work but, in my opinion, Friday Night was her first truly romantic film). Let The Sunshine In has a lot of the same elements of Friday Night but it’s a bit more mushy. This might be the lightest movie she’s ever done so far in her career (this is that new territory I was speaking of earlier) but at the end of the day it is a Claire Denis film. There’s plenty of sad moments & crying. But what’s so disorienting (and I mean this in a good way) is that the sad moments and the funny moments happen within moments of each other. One minute you’re laughing out loud and seconds later you want to cry with Juliette Binoche's "Isabelle". It's difficult to keep track of all the emotions. I know that sounds negative but it's not. Let The Sunshine In keeps you on your toes.

Denis also pleases her more rigid fans like myself who like continuity between all of her movies (Agnès Godard is behind the camera once again, Stuart Staples provided some of the music, Alex Descas co-starred, etc). The way Claire Denis shoots Binoche’s (beautiful) naked body is from the same lens that filmed the half-naked men in Beau Travail. I also came to the realization that in the last two decades we’ve watched Nichols Duvauchelle (who plays one of the love interests) pretty much grow up in Claire Denis’ movies.

Let The Sunshine In is the story of “Isabelle” - a divorced mom who still hasn’t given up on love and continues to try and date/hook up even though most of the men in her life at the moment kind of suck (some are still married, some are self-centered, etc). We feel for Isabelle because she is a romantic who deserves love but that doesn’t mean she isn’t frustrating. I enjoyed this movie very much but there were times when I wanted to yell at Isabelle in frustration like a lot of people want to in most romcoms (“WHY ARE YOU GOING BACK TO THAT GUY?! HE'S TERRIBLE FOR YOU!”)
When you take the solid performances and the overall “arthouse” element out of Let The Sunshine In, Isabelle could very well be the 5th friend in Carrie’s entourage on Sex & The City (I'd be interested in hearing theories as to whether or not Claire Denis was slightly poking fun at romantic comedies).


But the plot is secondary to me. I was more fascinated with the (extended) family reunion aspect of it all. I say extended because while this is Claire Denis’ first time collaborating with French cinema legends like Juliette Binoche & Gérard Depardieu, they’re still (distant) relatives that share the same blood/DNA as Denis. It was only a matter of time that they all work together.

Claire Denis is often associated with the Wim Wenders family tree of directors (Jarmusch, Denis & Wenders), actors (Solveig Dommartin, Issach De Bankole, etc), cinematographers (Agnes Godard & Robby Muller) & musicians (John Lurie) but she also belongs to another large cinematic family...

Leos Carax / Olivier Assayas / Claire Denis
Denis Lavant / Juliette Binoche / Alex Descas
Katerena Golubeva / Lola Creton / Mirielle Perrier
Kylie Minogue / Isabelle Huppert / The Depardieus

The Leos Carax/Olivier Assayas/Claire Denis family tree is seldom mentioned but is so quietly prevalent. It’s an incredibly incestuous web of collaborative artists that should be the subject of a book one day. Claire Denis helped Olivier Assayas come up with the story that eventually became Irma Vep (Irma Vep also co-stars Claire Denis-regular/Let The Sunshine In co-star Alex Descas). Leos Carax’s cinematic alter-ego Denis Lavant gave one of his most iconic performances in Beau Travail (a film many consider to be Claire’s best work). Olivier Assayas’ recent stock actor Lola Creton gave a cryptic performance in Denis’ Bastards. Mirielle Perrier starred in the directorial debuts of both Carax & Denis. Isabelle Huppert has appeared in the films of both Assayas & Denis and Kylie Minogue ended up in Leos Carax’s Holy Motors at the suggestion of Claire Denis (Denis & Minogue were supposed to work on a film together that eventually fell through).
There are more examples that I could give but I think you get the idea.

Let The Sunshine In might be the greatest cinematic artifact that shows the connectivity between Carax, Assayas & Denis. Gérard Depardieu’s son appeared in Carax’s Pola X alongside the late Katerina Golubeva (star of two Denis films and partner of Carax). Juliette Binoche, who’s started in multiple films directed by both Assayas & Carax, has become the first and only actor/actress to appear in films directed by all three filmmakers. So even if Let The Sunshine In ended up being bad, “meh” or disappointing (which it definitely is not), it still ties together decades of a specific scene within modern French cinema that is very near & dear to my heart.

I think it should be noted that years before this movie was announced I had a feeling Binoche & Denis would collaborate...

And here we are over two & a half later watching this dream collaboration become a reality (there's a moment towards the end of the movie where Alex Descas & Juliette Binoche slowly hold hands which solidified everything for me).

Don’t get me wrong, as a stand-alone movie Let The Sunshine In is solid. It’s a departure from Denis’ recent (darker) work. I honestly wouldn’t mind this being a novice’s intro in to the world of Claire Denis (besides the fact that it’s a solid film, it could potentially expose someone to so many different avenues of modern French cinema).
But as a diehard fan of Claire Denis (as well as Carax & Assayas) it’s difficult to disassociate the very large web of modern French cinema history attached to it.
To some this may be another solid Claire Denis effort but to me it’s something much bigger.

THE CINEMA OF MARINA DE VAN TOLD THROUGH IMAGES & STILLS

Marina De Van is a director/writer/actress that walks along her own unique path. With five feature films and a handful of shorts under her belt she has not only made a dent in the art house world (The New French Extremity scene to be specific), but has also carved out her own little niche and breathed life back in to genres like Body Horror and the Psychological Thriller (I consider her feature debut In My Skin to be one of the best films of the last decade).
Marina De Van is an important female voice in modern film. While filmmakers like Catherine Breillat tackle the subject of sex & sexuality among women (especially young women) and Claire Denis focuses on the (sometimes) taboos of interracial relationships often told from the perspectives of (white) women, De Van focuses on sanity, repressed memories and the female psyche.
Her films are defiant & challenging. Why is it that when a male director gives us an unflinching (yet tasteful) look at sexuality, blood & violence it’s ok, but when a woman does it, it causes a mini-uproar? Films like History Of Violence & Eastern Promises (Cronenberg) & Bug (William Friedken) are met with generally open arms while In My Skin (De Van), Trouble Every Day (Denis) & Anatomy Of Hell (Breillat) were all met with initial hostility & pushback. These are the kinds of questions that come about when discussing her work.

Marina De Van isn't exactly a household name but just about all of her movies are available on every major streaming platform. Hopefully this piece will inspire some of you to seek out her work and get familiar.

WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN / FEMALE LEADS

Mental illness affects us all. It doesn't specify according to gender. However Marina De Van focuses on mental illness among women. Her films are very "female-centric" and there's a lot of estrogen in the cinematic universe of Marina De Van. Who knows hormones & the mindstate of women more than a woman herself? That's not to say a man couldn't direct a film about mental illness as it pertains to women but wouldn't you want to see a woman do that first?

Now that we're in an era where folks are pushing for female filmmakers now more than ever, perhaps Marina De Van should be considered a varsity-letterman in that movement...

In My Skin

Don't Look Back

Dark Touch

Le Petit Poucet

8 Women (directed by Francois Ozon but written by Marina De Van)

See The Sea (directed by Francois Ozon but written by Marina De Van)

La Promenade

Alias

Bien Sous Tous Rapports

L'Epicerie

with that being said...

TRUAMATIC EVENTS & TRIGGERS

In her feature film debut (In My Skin) we see our main (female) character develop a newfound fascination with cutting & self-mutilation after she takes a nasty fall at a party (the fall just triggers something dark that was already inside her).

In Don't Look Back we see a woman struggle with a split personality disorder brought on by something triggered from her past. Dark Touch is an allegory for child abuse (the child in this case happens to be a little girl) while Alias deals with a woman struggling from an unknown tragic event that stopped her modeling career...

In My Skin

Don't Look Back

Dark Touch

Alias

LONELINESS & DEPRESSION (mostly among women but with a few exceptions)

The traumatic events from the above category often leads to depression and characters isolating themselves from others...

Alias

Psy-Show

In My Skin

Dark Touch

THE FEMALE FORM

Marina De Van doesn't shy away from showing the beauty that is the female body. While a lot of female filmmakers avoid gratuitous nudity & "eye candy", De Van embraces the female form (In My Skin almost doubles as an excuse for her to show off her own beautiful body). 

And because we're seeing the female body through the lens of a woman, it ends up being tasteful...

In My Skin

Don't Look Back

Don't Look Back

La Promenade

La Promenade

Alias

Alias

See The Sea

BLOOD & BODY HORROR

I'm sure De Van would dismiss the idea of being labeled as a "horror director", but a large majority of her films feature blood, murder, mutilation and the occasional supernatural character.

She's also one of the leading voices in the current body horror genre although you'd never know that because most cinephiles with an opinion on said genre cant get past David Cronenberg. But almost everyone one of Marina De Van's films features gruesome body transformations (Don't Look Back), body dismorphia (Le Petit Poucet) or severe self-mutilation (In My Skin).

Don't Look Back

In My Skin

In My Skin

In My Skin

Dark Touch

Le Petit Poucet

Le Petit Poucet

TRANSFORMATION/METAMORPHOSIS/SURROGATES…

Characters in movies starting out one way then changing in to someone/something new is hardly unique. But in the word of Marina De Van it’s incredibly drastic and sometimes jarring. In See The Sea we watch a character take the place of someone after violently murdering them. At the start of In My Skin we watch a relatively happy person slowly change to a darker version of herself. In the appropriately titled Alias we see our main character ditch a party by making her housekeeper take her place (no one notices). And Don’t Look Back is about a character with multiple personalities disorder.

See The Sea (a new mother takes the place of the original mother at the end of the movie)

two different versions of our protagonist in In My SKin

transformation in Don't Look Back

switching identities in Alias

DARK LIGHTING

I'm not sure if this is intentional or not but what makes De Van's films work so well is that a large majority of her work is lit very darkly which adds to the mysterious ambiance. Marina De Van works almost exclusively within the horror & psychological thriller genres so dark color palettes & nighttime settings only enhance the scary/uncertain mood...

Don't Look Back

In My Skin

In My Skin

Dark Touch

La Promenade

Alias

VISUAL SIMILARITIES & (POSSIBLE) INFLUENCES ON MARINA DE VAN

Crash (David Cronenberg)/ In My Skin

Un Chien Andalou (Luis Bunuel) / In My Skin

Bladerunner (Ridley Scott) / In My Skin

Repulsion (Roman Polanski) / Don't Look Back 

Altered States / Dont Look Back

RECURRING SHOTS: MIRRORS & SELF-REFLECTION

Don't Look Back

Don't Look Back

Le Petit Poucet

See The Sea (directed by Francois Ozon but written & starring Marina De Van)

Dark Touch

In My Skin

Alias

Alias

SPYING & VOYEURISM

Horror, Psychological thrillers & The New French Extremity are the common genres that are associated with Marina De Van but she also dips her toes in to the neo-noir genre. We often find the characters in De Van's films creeping on others (La Promenade) or spying in an effort to uncover the truth (Don't Look Back).

In My Skin

In My Skin

La Promenade

Don't Look Back

CRITICISM OF (SOME) MEN

This one is a little complicated...

While she isn't calling out all men on their bullshit, De Van certainly shines a spotlight on the very real (negative) characteristics that do exist in some men.

The men in the films of Marina De Van are often monsters (Le Petit Poucet), aggressive (Dark Touch), aloof (Don't Look Back), weak & pathetic (Psy-Show) or aggressive & self-centered (Marina De Van's boyfriend in In My Skin is so self-absorbed that he isn't supportive of his girlfriend who is clearly suffering from severe mental illness).

Dark Touch

In My Skin

In My Skin

Don't Look Back

Le Petit Poucet

Psy-Show

Criminal Lovers (a film about a male sexual abuser inspired by a poem written by Marina De Van)

THE PRESENCE OF CHILDREN

The idea of "the past" is an overlooked element in the cinematic universe of Marina De Van. It's easy to forget when you're dealing with body mutilation & extreme violence but flashbacks (Don't Look Back), repressed memories (Dark Touch) and the past (Le Petit Poucet) are key elements within her work and they are usually manifested through the children in her films...

Dark Touch

Don't Look Back

Le Petit Poucet