The directorial debut of novelist and screenwriter Alain Robbe-Grillet, L'Immortelle is a beguiling experience full of mystery and intrigue. The film follows a Frenchman who has just arrived in Instanbul. He meets a beautiful, mysterious woman, and they spend the next few days together wandering around the city, exploring its ancient culture. All of a sudden the woman disappears, leading the the frenchman on a journey to try and retrace his steps, eventually finding her only to lose her again. For those not familiar with Alain Robbe-Grillet's work it should be known that plot means very little, as the filmmaker is much more interested in experimenting with stunning, stylized visuals and narrative structure. The opening shot of the film should give viewers an idea of whether this is a film for them, featuring a tracking shot, seemingly from inside a car venturing down the Turkish country-side. The tracking shot is accompanied by a musical score that soon gives way to what could only be described as wild animal, followed by a woman's blood-curdling scream. If you are a filmgoer who wants everything explained than it's probably best to stay away, as everything in Robbe-Grillet's film feels very much up to interpretation. The mystery which unfolds in the narrative feels intentionally vague, delivering a film that, like life itself, is full of loose-ends and unsolved mysteries. While I'd be lying if I said I understood what exactly the film was trying to say, what has always stood out to me about Robbe-Grillet is how his film's subvert perception of time and space, as if the filmmaker views such staples of typical linear narrative storytelling as just another dimension to subvert and explore. While the film seems to have something to say about sexual obsession, love, the male gaze, and the destructive qualities of time itself, I think Robbe-Grillet's L'Immortelle is best looked as an exercise in storytelling, delivering a transfixing experience that's mystery maintains forever elusive.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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