DUELLE - une quarantaine  1976
(Twhylight) Directed by Jacques Rivette 121 minutes
In French with English subtitles

The films of Jacques Rivette are playful in the best sense of the word. They often contain scenes of odd magic/fantasy... and narratives that are otherworldly and surreal, but in a way that is somehow grounded in our real word. For Rivette there is no reason to deny this world in order to expand it and include other ones. It's this aspect of playfulness and exploration that has influenced directors like Jim Jarmusch. For Rivette, life itself is a puzzle.

Duelle takes place in a Paris that seems eternally held in twilight. It is a haunting tale about two goddesses (Bulle Ogier and Juliet Berto) who descend upon this strangely empty city to battle over a precious stone that will allow the winner to remain on earth. This movie was meant to be one in a thematic series about parallel lives, each project in a wildly different style, and the mood cast over this one is a modern "film noir".... and therefore the metaphysical mysteries are treated almost like a detective story. Duelle is also an exploration of femininity, drawing on archetypal myths taken from history and cinema. In fact, the wild story unfolds through the interplay of four principle women, and there is only one male in the entire cast. Rivette's movies are polar opposites of modern Hollywood flicks, so don't ever expect any sudden realizations at the climax where all the pieces fall into place and the big mystery is explained... Rivette's films keep some of their mysteries and you leave the cinema not necessarily relieved, but haunted.
 

This will be a high-definition projection.