User Reviews

I found this French experimental film in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, without the book I would never have even heard about this short film, I knew nothing about it, but was willing to give it a go based on this recommendation. Basically it is short forty- five minute documentary style film about the seas and shores of the Mediterranean Sea, directed by Jean-Daniel Pollet. Throughout it explores the Mediterranean landscapes, cities and people, including a Greek temple, a Sicilian garden with orange trees, the sea and its waves, an elderly bearded fisherman, a bullfighter fighting a heavily bleeding bull with large stick stuck in its back, and a girl who never moves or opens her eyes on an operating table. You also see a section of barbed wire overlooking a sea view; Egyptian statues, pyramids, a corpse and a sarcophagus; ruins of a palace including the many beams, archways and staircases; a steelworks machine carrying hot steel rods and plates; a girl with big eyebrows combing her hair and dressing; what looks like a city river of Venice; and photographs of the old man and the girl in black-and-white. Also throughout is narration, it may be nonsensical at times, it talks about space time and time, going places, secret and forbidden places, playing pieces in a game, travelling in unknown directions, evolution and the size of things. There is also the music of Antione Duhamel and other random sound effects, including flies buzzing. It certainly has fascinating things to see, and the editing to see the various, often repeated, things is interesting, it is said to have influenced other filmmakers, including Jean-Luc Goddard, it is a good choice for the 1001 Movies, not a bad alternative documentary style film, a good experimental film. Worth watching!