Film review: 'Red Dwarf'
Belgian director Yvan Le Moine makes an auspicious feature debut with this surrealistic, fantastical tale in which the little man protagonist is literally small. First presented in the Directors Fortnight at the Cannes International Film Festival and subsequently at dozens of other festivals, it opens commercially Friday in New York via Samuel Goldwyn. Although far too off-putting and strange for significant art house consumption, it has the makings of a cult item and it presents a significant new talent in its director-screenwriter.
Based on a short story by French author Michel Tournier, "The Red Dwarf" stars Jean-Yves Thual as the title character, Lucien Lhotte, a little person who suffers an oppressed existence working as a lawyer at a monolithic law firm, where his personal and bizarre specialty is crafting highly poetic and passionate love letters to use as false evidence in divorce cases.
One day, Lucien, who despises his work, happens upon a vacant lot where a circus tent has been pitched. There, he meets Isis (Dyna Gauzy), a young girl trapeze artist. The two form a strange but powerful bond, with Lucien deeply attracted to her innocence and honesty.
Lucien is assigned to a case involving one of the firm's biggest clients, the Countess Paoloa Bendoni (Anita Ekberg), an aging and ravaged opera star who is divorcing her gigolo husband. Deeply lonely, Lucien seduces her, involving the pair in a highly unlikely but torrid affair. When it ends badly, it inspires Lucien to finally take charge of his life. He quits his job, expresses his disgust at his employers in a vividly lurid manner that won't be revealed here and joins his beloved Isis to become the newest sensation of the circus.
Although the pacing of this strange tale is at times far too slow, Le Moine has created an undeniably haunting film that is highly distinctive in its visual approach. Photographed in a richly hued and textured black and white, "Red Dwarf" displays a mesmerizing visual quality and stylishness that works perfectly for its bizarre subject matter. Because of the circus milieu, the presence of iconic Ekberg and grotesque characters, the film betrays a certain debt to Frederico Fellini. But it has a far more subdued, mournful quality and possesses the resonance of a poetic fable.
Thual, who played the lead in a stage version of the classic film "Freaks", is superbly creepy as the angry Lucien and never seems to be courting the audience's affections. Ekberg, whose appearance has changed dramatically since her days frolicking in the fountain in "La Dolce Vita", is used extremely well and displays a sharp, self-mocking sense of comic irony. The director has cast the film with actors who make strong visual impressions, with Gauzy particularly impressive as the young and seductive Iris.
Adding greatly to the film's impact is the striking and hallucinatory production design by Philippe Graff.
RED DWARF
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Director-screenplay: Yvan Le Moine
Director of photography: Danny Elsen
Editor: Ursula Leziak
Production designer: Philippe Graff
Music: Alexei Shelegin, Daniel Brandt
Color/stereo
Cast:
Lucien Lhotte: Jean-Yves Thual
Isis Colombe: Dyna Gauzy
Circus Director: Michel Peyrelon
Bob: Arno Chevrier
Countess Paoloa Bendoni: Anita Ekberg
Old Clown: Carlo Colombaioni
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Based on a short story by French author Michel Tournier, "The Red Dwarf" stars Jean-Yves Thual as the title character, Lucien Lhotte, a little person who suffers an oppressed existence working as a lawyer at a monolithic law firm, where his personal and bizarre specialty is crafting highly poetic and passionate love letters to use as false evidence in divorce cases.
One day, Lucien, who despises his work, happens upon a vacant lot where a circus tent has been pitched. There, he meets Isis (Dyna Gauzy), a young girl trapeze artist. The two form a strange but powerful bond, with Lucien deeply attracted to her innocence and honesty.
Lucien is assigned to a case involving one of the firm's biggest clients, the Countess Paoloa Bendoni (Anita Ekberg), an aging and ravaged opera star who is divorcing her gigolo husband. Deeply lonely, Lucien seduces her, involving the pair in a highly unlikely but torrid affair. When it ends badly, it inspires Lucien to finally take charge of his life. He quits his job, expresses his disgust at his employers in a vividly lurid manner that won't be revealed here and joins his beloved Isis to become the newest sensation of the circus.
Although the pacing of this strange tale is at times far too slow, Le Moine has created an undeniably haunting film that is highly distinctive in its visual approach. Photographed in a richly hued and textured black and white, "Red Dwarf" displays a mesmerizing visual quality and stylishness that works perfectly for its bizarre subject matter. Because of the circus milieu, the presence of iconic Ekberg and grotesque characters, the film betrays a certain debt to Frederico Fellini. But it has a far more subdued, mournful quality and possesses the resonance of a poetic fable.
Thual, who played the lead in a stage version of the classic film "Freaks", is superbly creepy as the angry Lucien and never seems to be courting the audience's affections. Ekberg, whose appearance has changed dramatically since her days frolicking in the fountain in "La Dolce Vita", is used extremely well and displays a sharp, self-mocking sense of comic irony. The director has cast the film with actors who make strong visual impressions, with Gauzy particularly impressive as the young and seductive Iris.
Adding greatly to the film's impact is the striking and hallucinatory production design by Philippe Graff.
RED DWARF
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Director-screenplay: Yvan Le Moine
Director of photography: Danny Elsen
Editor: Ursula Leziak
Production designer: Philippe Graff
Music: Alexei Shelegin, Daniel Brandt
Color/stereo
Cast:
Lucien Lhotte: Jean-Yves Thual
Isis Colombe: Dyna Gauzy
Circus Director: Michel Peyrelon
Bob: Arno Chevrier
Countess Paoloa Bendoni: Anita Ekberg
Old Clown: Carlo Colombaioni
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 6/16/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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