A guy who lives by himself finds a girl being beat up in front of his apartment. He takes her in but she refuses a doctor or the police. She stays a couple of days till she gets better. They become friends. He is a retired math teacher writing a book about beliefs and myths. His approach is of course Freudian, Marxist, scientistic if not nihilistic. He asks her to stay with him and help him with his book. She's not interested, she's more of a free spirit.
Weird sounds start coming from a pantry. The girl leaves. One day the guy is attacked by a ghost or something. The girl returns just in time. She has some affinity for the paranormal. She's had visions or the car accident that killed her parents. They do a seance. A drawing of the guy's dead wife appears. And also some evil creature.
The girl accepts the guy's proposal to move in. But he has more to offer. He wants to leave everything to her when he dies. She's willing to live there and help but in exchange for nothing. When they finish the book they celebrate and go out to buy champagne. Then there's the surprise ending that comes out of nowhere and doesn't explain much.
The Girl from Nowhere is unusual for a Brisseau film. It's just basically these two who have something of a Platonic relationship. He calls her the reincarnation of his wife. The girl who doesn't have anything still refuses all his help. She admits that she seduces and mistreats men which then results in them taking revenge. There's lots of talk about his book which is rather superficial stuff. Also missing is any eroticism. There's a single erotic scene that lasts about 2 seconds that doesn't relate to anything. There are some additional strange characters that appear near the end. There could be an explanation about what happens, but it doesn't really matter. The movie itself doesn't demand interpretation. Brisseau directs himself unfortunately, because an actor he isn't. A friend in the movie tells him he looks much happier since the girl is in his life, but he doesn't reflect that at all. His performance is entirely flat throughout. The actress does a much better job. This movie is ok as a very low key movie as long as you don't expect much.
Weird sounds start coming from a pantry. The girl leaves. One day the guy is attacked by a ghost or something. The girl returns just in time. She has some affinity for the paranormal. She's had visions or the car accident that killed her parents. They do a seance. A drawing of the guy's dead wife appears. And also some evil creature.
The girl accepts the guy's proposal to move in. But he has more to offer. He wants to leave everything to her when he dies. She's willing to live there and help but in exchange for nothing. When they finish the book they celebrate and go out to buy champagne. Then there's the surprise ending that comes out of nowhere and doesn't explain much.
The Girl from Nowhere is unusual for a Brisseau film. It's just basically these two who have something of a Platonic relationship. He calls her the reincarnation of his wife. The girl who doesn't have anything still refuses all his help. She admits that she seduces and mistreats men which then results in them taking revenge. There's lots of talk about his book which is rather superficial stuff. Also missing is any eroticism. There's a single erotic scene that lasts about 2 seconds that doesn't relate to anything. There are some additional strange characters that appear near the end. There could be an explanation about what happens, but it doesn't really matter. The movie itself doesn't demand interpretation. Brisseau directs himself unfortunately, because an actor he isn't. A friend in the movie tells him he looks much happier since the girl is in his life, but he doesn't reflect that at all. His performance is entirely flat throughout. The actress does a much better job. This movie is ok as a very low key movie as long as you don't expect much.