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La coquille et le clergyman (1928)

| Short | 16 February 1933 (Japan)
La coquille et le clergyman Poster
Obsessed with a general's woman, a clergyman has strange visions of death and lust, struggling against his own eroticism.

Director:

Germaine Dulac

Writer:

Antonin Artaud

Stars:

Alex Allin, Genica Athanasiou, Lucien Bataille
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Cast

Credited cast:
Alex Allin Alex Allin ... Le clergyman
Genica Athanasiou Genica Athanasiou ... La femme du général
Lucien Bataille Lucien Bataille ... Le général
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Storyline

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

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

experimental film | surrealism | feminist film | lust | cleaning | See All (22) »

Genres:

Short

Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

France

Release Date:

16 February 1933 (Japan) See more »

Also Known As:

A kagyló és a lelkész See more »

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Délia Film See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

(restored)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The British Board of Film Censors banned this film in the UK in 1927, saying, "This film is so obscure as to have no apparent meaning. If there is a meaning, it is doubtless objectionable." See more »

Connections

Featured in Fejezetek a film történetéböl: Az európai film kezdetei (1989) See more »

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User Reviews

 
One of most celebrated avant garde movie of all time
4 November 2005 | by amjad qureshi – See all my reviews

The predecessor of Un Chien Andalou and directed by the lone woman filmmaker of her time, La Coquille et le Clergyman is one of the most celebrated of French avant-garde movies of the '20s, partly because Antonin Artaud wrote the script, partly because the British censor of the time banned it with the legendary words 'If this film has a meaning, it is doubtless objectionable'. Artaud was reputedly unhappy with Dulac's realization of his scenario, and it's true that the story's anti-clericalism (a priest develops a lustful passion that plunges him into bizarre fantasies) is somewhat undermined by the director's determined visual lyricism. But the fragmentation of the narrative and the innovative imagery remain provocative, and the film is of course fascinating testimony to the currents of its time.
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