Le professeur Taranne

A very interesting adaptation of Arthur Adamov's play. How did Ruiz change it? Belgian actor Hadelin Trinon plays the real Professor in the initial and end scenes of the film. In between, you have other actors and actresses playing the role of Taranne. The connecting link is Taranne's pair of spectacles, interspersed by shots of a swimming pool. The nudity in Adamov's play is dispensed with--a sober decision from Ruiz. For unitiated, Adamov along with Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco originated the Theater of the Absurd. This is one of Ruiz' important films because of his ability to use cinema to give new perspectives to this important Adamov play. And Hadelin Trinon is a treat to watch. Ruiz was well read and chose to film very interesting works of writers including Proust, R L Stevenson, and the little known 19th centiury novelist Camilo Castelo Branco. Ruiz contribution to cinema is as interesting Tarkovsky's. Few realize and acknowledge this.