La coquille et le clergyman (1928)

Director:

Germaine Dulac

Writer:

Antonin Artaud (writer)

Release Date:

16 February 1933 (Japan)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

Obsessed with a general's woman, a clergyman has strange visions of death and lust, struggling against his own eroticism. |

Plot Keywords:

Lust | Nudity | Surrealism | Seashell | Obsession

Cast

Alex Allin	...	Le clergyman
Genica Athanasiou	...	La femme du général
Lucien Bataille	...	Le général

Also Known As:

The Seashell and the Clergyman (International: English title)

Runtime:

Germany:41 min (restored version) | Argentina:28 min

Country:

France

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Délia Film

Trivia:

At the film's premier, writer Antonin Artaud, who was obviously not pleased by what director Germain Dulac did to his screenplay, shouted at the screen insulting her as a cow.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Women Who Made the Movies (1992) (V)

Interesting, but I'm still not really sure what to make of it

This is one of the earliest surrealist films, predating the more notorious "Un chien andalou" by a year. The main reason I decided to check it out was because of the involvement of Antonion Artaud, my favorite member of the original surrealist group (despite being kicked out later). He wrote the screenplay, and many of his running themes appear. There's fall from grace, fear of sex, and the entwining of fantasy and reality to the point the audience is unable to tell one from the other and becomes "involved" with the on-screen action. The film itself plays like a half remembered dream, and if you're unfamiliar with the work of Artaud, it'll likely not make too much sense. I count him as one of my favorite writers, but I'm still not too sure what to make of this project (apparently he was extremely dissatisfied with the final result).

If anything, I enjoyed watching it, as it features a great dreamlike atmosphere in the way only silent films can project. There's a lot of nice and charmingly primitive camera tricks on display here. If you enjoy the effects work of Jean Cocteau (coincidentally, my second favorite surrealist after Artaud), you'll find plenty here to be hypnotized by. The direction by Germaine Dulac keeps the atmosphere level high. Like the best surrealist work, the images don't work by any conventional logic, but achieve a sub conscience level where they work on their own - they don't make sense, but the viewer is convinced there is deeper meaning nonetheless. Artaud considered this a failure, and to be honest it is moderately disappointing, because I'd think any film revolving around his themes would be a masterpiece. Still, its interesting and worth seeking out. (8/10)