La vallée

Name: La vallée
Genre: Drama
Released: 1972-07-11
Duration: 1 h 41 min
Rating: 6.4
Cast: Bulle Ogier, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Michael Gothard

1972
1h 41m

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

Drama

Filmmaker Barbet Schroeder explores themes of sexual freedom, mind alteration, and pursuit of paradise against the backdrop of an early 70's encounter with the Mapuga rain forest tribe in up... Read allFilmmaker Barbet Schroeder explores themes of sexual freedom, mind alteration, and pursuit of paradise against the backdrop of an early 70's encounter with the Mapuga rain forest tribe in upland New Guinea.Filmmaker Barbet Schroeder explores themes of sexual freedom, mind alteration, and pursuit of paradise against the backdrop of an early 70's encounter with the Mapuga rain forest tribe in upland New Guinea.

See production, box office & company info

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

See production, box office & company info

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Photos20

Michael Gothard and Bulle Ogier in La vallée (1972)

Storyline

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Trivia
The soundtrack to this film was released as a Pink Floyd album. Due to a spat with the film company after filming was complete, the Floyd decided not to mention the planned film title, "La Vallee," in the album's title and instead chose to call the release "Obscured By Clouds," echoing a line of dialogue from the film. In response, "Obscured By Clouds" was added as a subtitle so it could gain from Pink Floyd's popularity. This turned out to be a good move as Pink Floyd would soon gain even more fame with the release of "Dark Side of the Moon" just a few months later.

Quotes
Viviane: Olivier, isn't it wonderful... We've become so close to them. We're practically like them. Look at Gaetan and Hermine... it's great! I'm happy. We've found truth, you know.
[kisses his shoulder, but he looks sad]
Viviane: What's wrong, Olivier?
Olivier: It's just the opposite.
Viviane: What's the opposite?
Olivier: We're lying. Whatever Gaetan says, we're tourists here.
Viviane: What do you mean, "tourists"? I don't get it, what's that supposed to mean?
[angry]
Viviane: It's disgusting, hearing you talk like that, you've spent months here with Gaetan, and that's all... You don't understand. What are you, stupid?
Olivier: Dancing's easy. Could you work with them?
Viviane: Yes, absolutely!
Olivier: Women are even more exploited here.
[Viviane starts to think]
Olivier: You know, Viviane, among the Kombugas society is bound by very strict rules.
Viviane: Same with ours.
Olivier: It's not the same thing... We're trying to break ours. When they dance, it's not just for the pleasure of it, it's to obey something. Look, this is the cemetery, they're dancing on their dead. We seek after pleasure, and maybe peace. They couldn't care less about that.
Viviane: I don't know, Olivier, but look at this festival. Everyone's happy together. Why do we all understand, without words... like real friends? Why the understanding, why is it so simple here, eh?
Olivier: It's O.K. But that doesn't mean much.
Viviane: You really disappoint me. You're just like my husband.
Olivier: Sure, we all like each other, but it doesn't go any farther. How can you expect real rapports between us, who tear down our social restrictions, and them, who live in terror and... and respect for taboos?
Viviane: I don't know, but it's possible. We're finding something else, that's all. Don't you believe in mysterious forces?
Olivier: Oh, sure, very much. But not in their way. For us, that's impossible. One can't forget one's past, Viviane. It's not possible to undo your conditioning. Once it's lost, innocence can't be found again. Paradise is a place with many exits, but no entrance... There's no way back from knowledge... When you fall from grace, that's it. I wonder, to find it again, whether we shouldn't do just the opposite of what we've done... If we shouldn't take another bite out of the apple.
[Viviane walks away]

Connections
Edited into Virus (1980)

Soundtracks
Obscured By Clouds
Written by Pink Floyd
Performed by Pink Floyd

User reviews25

Review

Featured review

7/10

Tribal Gatherings

Barbet Schroeder is in danger of becoming a legend in his own lifetime. From this rather beautiful hippie opus, to Single White Female and more recently, an episode of Mad Men, this is a man with no respect for boundaries. The main character in this 1971 film is Vivian (Bulle Ogier), a collector of rare feathers which she sells in a posh boutique. While on holiday in New Guinea she joins a hippie expedition, hoping to add more fluff to her collection. She's the wife of a diplomat, bourgeois, liberal and a 'sport' as she puts it. The primary aim of the trek is to locate a (possibly mythical) paradisaical valley way over yonder, kind of like Richard's pursuit of the perfect beach in the Alex Garland novel, but with a more metaphysical bent.

It's the journey not the arrival that grabs and cameraman Nestor Almendros, whose credits include Malick's Days of Heaven, really comes to the fore as his images compensate for any narrative slack. Eventually the group encounter the isolated but photogenic Magupa tribe, just about to start an incredible festival - cue more stunning images. That's about as dramatic as it gets - there's no manufactured events, just the group interacting with the natives and each other. For Vivian the journey becomes a voyage of self-discovery aided by some local hallucinogenics, though her newly-found freedom is tested both physically and philosophically by her lover as they approach their destination. By this time dialogue is sparse as the film slips into National Geographic mode. But it's Ogier who really keeps things together here, offering a riveting portrayal of a woman in transition. There's some discourse on the relative merits of the contrasting civilisations, and questions which throw doubt on the hippies belief in the superiority of the 'natural' way of life. Pink Floyd contribute the soundtrack (Obscured by Clouds) but its barely audible aside from the closing credits.

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