Whilst a few of the shots in this film may merit some fancy, the experience of watching this film from beginning to end is draining and unrewarding. As an experimental film that does not seek to tell a story nor make any impressive aesthetic propositions in the way of, say, David Lynch, it does well to stay in archives. Jacques Rivette is by all means a notable director whose films should be seen, but far from being an exemplary work of his, Noroît is a doodle made in the margin of his white list. At best it gives an insight into the director's character, and really should be out of bounds to anybody other than Rivette heavyweights.
A lack of a coherent narrative can be compensated for through other means such as through a Beckettian abstract aesthetic or through a Bergmanesque dreamscape. There are numerous films that sack story to discover the other facets of cinema but this one does not sincerely arrive at any kind of relevant revelation. With the liberty to fiddle with cameras and a cast Rivette works out what cinema can't achieve more than what it can. It's viewing interest is comparable to reading the private notes of an established artist or author to better understand how he comes to put together his more meritorious works.
That said, there are certain moments which suggest that Rivette is indeed trying to communicate with an audience and not just getting on with his personal pursuit. Bearing in mind that this film is adapted from a 5 act play, Rivette on occasion inserts the notion that the characters are conscious of the fact that they are actors. To begin with, realism or dramatic calibre of any other description is deliberately (I presume) humiliated by actors who, for example, shamelessly continue to breathe whilst lying dead on the ground. Also the script somewhat bizarrely alternates between French and high register English at times when they choose to honour the heavier lines of the original script. An infuriating cacophony emerging from the on-screen band of musical pirates provides the soundtrack for the pseudo-drama, which further reinforces the idea that this film consciously reflects its genre. Perhaps then, Noroît is a film about itself, and behind the chaos is a group of characters desperately trying to find themselves a narrative to fulfil their existence.
Still, this is a film that is very tiresome to sit through and even if the ideas outlined above were indeed Rivette's intentions there are works that portray them much more neatly. Noroît comes across as a tangled mishmash of propositions and is as pleasing as a beginner's violin scale practice.
A lack of a coherent narrative can be compensated for through other means such as through a Beckettian abstract aesthetic or through a Bergmanesque dreamscape. There are numerous films that sack story to discover the other facets of cinema but this one does not sincerely arrive at any kind of relevant revelation. With the liberty to fiddle with cameras and a cast Rivette works out what cinema can't achieve more than what it can. It's viewing interest is comparable to reading the private notes of an established artist or author to better understand how he comes to put together his more meritorious works.
That said, there are certain moments which suggest that Rivette is indeed trying to communicate with an audience and not just getting on with his personal pursuit. Bearing in mind that this film is adapted from a 5 act play, Rivette on occasion inserts the notion that the characters are conscious of the fact that they are actors. To begin with, realism or dramatic calibre of any other description is deliberately (I presume) humiliated by actors who, for example, shamelessly continue to breathe whilst lying dead on the ground. Also the script somewhat bizarrely alternates between French and high register English at times when they choose to honour the heavier lines of the original script. An infuriating cacophony emerging from the on-screen band of musical pirates provides the soundtrack for the pseudo-drama, which further reinforces the idea that this film consciously reflects its genre. Perhaps then, Noroît is a film about itself, and behind the chaos is a group of characters desperately trying to find themselves a narrative to fulfil their existence.
Still, this is a film that is very tiresome to sit through and even if the ideas outlined above were indeed Rivette's intentions there are works that portray them much more neatly. Noroît comes across as a tangled mishmash of propositions and is as pleasing as a beginner's violin scale practice.
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