I like watching the Kino DVDs of experimental films. True, the results are hit and miss, but since most of the films run fifteen or twenty minutes, the viewing is none too taxing. In fact, I think that experimental films work best as shorts. It takes a very good one, usually with some type of narrative, to work as a feature (Eraserhead and L'Age D'Or are two such exceptions).
Le Revelateur is not a long movie (a little over an hour), but it still overstays its welcome. The film appears to be about a family of vagabonds, a father, a mother, and, the film's center, a little boy. I stress "appears" because the scenes of the family tromping through forests and roads may be the boy's dreams (since there is a home setting to certain scenes). There is no plot to speak of, but the film seems to be about the alienation the child feels for his parents. I assume this from the separation images which reoccur throughout the film. Also, the film hints that the relationship between the mother and the father is strained to the point of abuse.
Le Revelateur has strong black and white cinematography. The images have texture due to the high contrast film stock. This is particularly apparent in the forest scenes where an intense, yet singular, light source gives the image an intense but unreal quality, like a dream born out of illness.
While I was not bored, I did get tired of the film even considering its short running time. There are great moments, particularly the exterior shots with family walking (and sometimes fleeing) over fields and through forests. What the film lacks (perhaps deliberately) is forward motion. The world it portrays is interesting but becomes redundant after awhile. I was hoping the film would hit home with its finale but the film continues on past a couple of seemingly good places to conclude (a tracking shot separating the boy from his parents or an intense scene outside a military base). The film finally ends with an homage to The 400 Blows which drags on long after most viewers will have gotten it.
I have wanted to see Le Revelateur for five years now. I finally tracked down a copy of a copy. I am glad to be able to cross the film off my to see list. It did leave an impression. However, I don't know when (or if) I'll watch it a second time.
Le Revelateur is not a long movie (a little over an hour), but it still overstays its welcome. The film appears to be about a family of vagabonds, a father, a mother, and, the film's center, a little boy. I stress "appears" because the scenes of the family tromping through forests and roads may be the boy's dreams (since there is a home setting to certain scenes). There is no plot to speak of, but the film seems to be about the alienation the child feels for his parents. I assume this from the separation images which reoccur throughout the film. Also, the film hints that the relationship between the mother and the father is strained to the point of abuse.
Le Revelateur has strong black and white cinematography. The images have texture due to the high contrast film stock. This is particularly apparent in the forest scenes where an intense, yet singular, light source gives the image an intense but unreal quality, like a dream born out of illness.
While I was not bored, I did get tired of the film even considering its short running time. There are great moments, particularly the exterior shots with family walking (and sometimes fleeing) over fields and through forests. What the film lacks (perhaps deliberately) is forward motion. The world it portrays is interesting but becomes redundant after awhile. I was hoping the film would hit home with its finale but the film continues on past a couple of seemingly good places to conclude (a tracking shot separating the boy from his parents or an intense scene outside a military base). The film finally ends with an homage to The 400 Blows which drags on long after most viewers will have gotten it.
I have wanted to see Le Revelateur for five years now. I finally tracked down a copy of a copy. I am glad to be able to cross the film off my to see list. It did leave an impression. However, I don't know when (or if) I'll watch it a second time.