La Femme Public Publique

La Femme Public Publique

Mondo Vision 2008

R0 NTSC DVD

Mondo Vision are newcomers to the market and their first release is a superb and rare world cinema classic, Le Femme Publique by maverick Polish director Andrzej Zulawski. This is a seductive, beautiful and evocative film which offers a surreal look at the career of a young actress trying to escape her dysfunctional upbringing and make it big. At the same time it brings in themes of love and betrayal, family and obligation and above all the nature of the roles we choose to play in life.

At first it is the film in which she (and others) play their roles, but soon these roles begin to seep into their everyday lives with all manner of disasters from familial and relationship problems to political intrigue. As the film slowly unfolds over two hours you find the line between reality and fantasy dissolving and get carried along with the strange dreamlike quality of the experience. When the film ends and the actors all take a bow, you are jolted back into reality and wonder whether everything you have seen as been part of the fantasy of the leading actress or whether the director is simply reminding us of the artificial nature of film and by implication, the illusions of the roles we choose to play in “real” life. The joy of this film is that it is so hard to draw conclusions and there could be endless debates over what it means.

Ethel is a young actress who has grown up in a difficult household, her mother has mental health issues and has an ongoing “relationship” with a previous lover who is violent and aggressive, her father (or perhaps stepfather) is ineffectual yet caring. She dances naked for a living and only just scrapes by. She manipulates her way into an interview for a part in a film based on Dostoyevsky's "The Possessed", even though she has little acting experience. As she becomes more involved in the film the director seems to take a shine to her and puts her in the lead role, they also develop a wild relationship, which has equal elements of lust, ambition and abuse. As the filming continues, it seems that the various members of the cast lose touch with reality and the very themes explored in the film begin to play out in real life. “The Possessed” is about the use of violence to achieve political ends and is both a critique of the violent left and the ineptitude of the conservative right and aristocracy and these themes begin to play out in the lives of the actors playing in “The Possessed”. Intrigue abounds as a political assassination occurs and nobody is who they seem.

This is a beautiful looking film filled with colour and texture. It always keeps your attention and is constantly intriguing, you are never sure what is going on and it is also peppered with eroticism and nakedness, which gives a very “Euro” feel to the experience. It explores lots of different themes within the larger discourse. For example, Ethel dances naked for a photographer to make a regular income. After many sessions of extremely wild and beautiful dances, the photographer is so aroused he has a heart attack. However, when she looks at the photos they all show her without her head. It is such a potent examination of objectification and the way in which women are be reduced to mere “body parts”. Throughout the film such motifs are used to discuss all manner of ideas and “La Femme Public Publique” really could be used as a the basis for discussions over a long period !

The Mondo Vision release of “La Femme Public Publique” is nothing short of superb. It is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and enhanced for widescreen Television and the clarity of the film cannot be faulted. The colours are scrumptious and I did not notice any damage to the print whatsoever. The soundtrack is excellent; there is the original French Dolby Digital Mono track and a Stereo Dolby Digital Track with optional, white subtitles in English. The subtitles are clear and easy to follow.

La Femme Public Publique is superb cinema; it is a visual feast while also offering an intelligent and thoughtful plot. It is not an “easy” film, but will make you think about, debate and consider what you have seen. I consider this a significant work which at last has been made available in a top notch edition. While this is a US release it is all regions NTSC.

This review will appear in Volume 2:1 (2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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