FRONTIER OF DAWN / LA FRONTIÈRE DE L’AUBE
by Philippe Garrel
France, 2008, 106 minutes, 35mm. In French with English subtitles. With Louis Garrel, Laura Smet. Distributed by IFC Films; special thanks to Ryan Werner & Jonathan Hertzberg.
SPECIAL REVIVAL SCREENINGS!
A weekend of encore screenings of the most recent film by Philippe Garrel, one of the towering figures of contemporary French cinema, who has finally begun to receive substantial exposure in the US, thanks to the recent theatrical release of his May ’68-themed REGULAR LOVERS and the re-release of the exquisite I DON’T HEAR THE GUITAR ANYMORE.
Carole, a celebrity neglected by her husband, falls for François, a young photographer. Returning from a business trip the husband surprises them, and the lovers have to end their relationship. Carole gradually drifts into madness and commits suicide. One year later, a few hours before his wedding, François has a vision. It’s Carole, calling him from the other world…
“The intense romanticism of Garrel’s new drama arises both from its story of love unto death and from the director’s self-revealing artistry. The passionate relationship between François (Louis Garrel, the director’s son), a photographer, and Carole (Laura Smet, the daughter of Johnny Hallyday and Nathalie Baye), the actress he’s hired to take pictures of, is also that of the director’s camera with the actress. … When circumstances pry Carole and François apart, the plot enters the familiar realm of l’amour fou; even in her absence, the actress remains an indomitable force in the photographer’s life. Within the modernistically shattered framework of conventional melodrama, Garrel conveys an extravagant, heartfelt blend of tenderness, pain, and longing.” –Richard Brody, NEW YORKER
“Time and again, [Garrel] inserts two lovers inside his meticulous compositions, where they reveal passions that by virtue of their excesses remind us of how drained of life the modern world truly is. He transforms a private reverie into a public sacrament, invokes the eternal, risks absurdity, invites derision, seduces, shocks, transcends.” –Manohla Dargis, NEW YORK TIMES
A weekend of encore screenings of the most recent film by Philippe Garrel, one of the towering figures of contemporary French cinema, who has finally begun to receive substantial exposure in the US, thanks to the recent theatrical release of his May ’68-themed REGULAR LOVERS and the re-release of the exquisite I DON’T HEAR THE GUITAR ANYMORE.
Carole, a celebrity neglected by her husband, falls for François, a young photographer. Returning from a business trip the husband surprises them, and the lovers have to end their relationship. Carole gradually drifts into madness and commits suicide. One year later, a few hours before his wedding, François has a vision. It’s Carole, calling him from the other world…
“The intense romanticism of Garrel’s new drama arises both from its story of love unto death and from the director’s self-revealing artistry. The passionate relationship between François (Louis Garrel, the director’s son), a photographer, and Carole (Laura Smet, the daughter of Johnny Hallyday and Nathalie Baye), the actress he’s hired to take pictures of, is also that of the director’s camera with the actress. … When circumstances pry Carole and François apart, the plot enters the familiar realm of l’amour fou; even in her absence, the actress remains an indomitable force in the photographer’s life. Within the modernistically shattered framework of conventional melodrama, Garrel conveys an extravagant, heartfelt blend of tenderness, pain, and longing.” –Richard Brody, NEW YORKER
“Time and again, [Garrel] inserts two lovers inside his meticulous compositions, where they reveal passions that by virtue of their excesses remind us of how drained of life the modern world truly is. He transforms a private reverie into a public sacrament, invokes the eternal, risks absurdity, invites derision, seduces, shocks, transcends.” –Manohla Dargis, NEW YORK TIMES
There are no future showings scheduled.