Deux (2002)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Werner Schroeter

Writers:

Cédric Anger (writer)
Werner Schroeter (writer)

Release Date:

13 November 2002 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Marseille | Le Marais | One Actress For Twin Sisters | Arles | Provence

Cast

Isabelle Huppert	...	Magdalena / Maria
Bulle Ogier	...	Anna, the mother
Manuel Blanc	...	Man with the flower / Russian officer / Henri L. / French officer / Man on the beach
Arielle Dombasle	...	Professor Barbez
Annika Kuhl	...	Erika, the mistress
Robinson Stévenin	...	Young man on the bike
Philippe Reuter	...	Hans
Pascal Bongard	...	Alfred
Jean-François Stévenin	...	Man in the car
Dominique Frot	...	The adoptive mother
Rita Loureiro	...	Julia / Young girl in Paris
Philippe Carta	...	Taxi driver / sailor
Tim Fischer	...	Josephine Baker
Rogério Samora	...	Sintra castle keeper
Zazie De Paris	...	Zazie

Also Known As:

Two (International: English title)

Runtime:

121 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

France | Germany | Portugal

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

France:-12 | Hong Kong:III

Filming Locations:

Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Company:

France 2 Cinéma

Idiossyncratic, infuriating non-linear autobiographical fantasia - for director fans only

Werner Schroeter has made his entire career as a sort of cursed outcast of the Fassbinder generation of German cinema, alternating highly personal film projects with stage work, directing both opera and theatre productions. "Deux", written expressly for the great Isabelle Huppert (with whom Schroeter had already worked twice previously), is as idiossyncratic and infuriating as any of his previous work, probably more so because it's designed as a sort of "surrealist autobiography" where the director is actually portrayed as two female characters, apparently twin sisters unaware of each other's existence, both played by Huppert. That's about the extent of what you can actually get out of this non-linear transgender fantasia as far as a "plot" goes, since the film is basically an apparently random (and often impenetrable) collage of episodes in the life of both women and also their mother, without any rhyme or reason other than the baroque, operatic transfiguration of Schroeter's own memories into art for art's sake. There's an undeniable visual talent at work here and Huppert's mesmerizing immersion in Schroeter's peculiar universe is outstanding, but the lack of any narrative landmarks for the viewer to anchor himself to eventually turn "Deux" into a radical, experimental piece aimed squarely at a hardcore niche of arthouse audiences aware and knowledgeable about the director's work.