AFA celebrates a French New Wave(r) who neglected to crest with the other Big Five

Whatcha doin' for Halloween, film fans? Want to dip, for a change, into something deeply, troublingly scary? You don't need vampires and werewolves, slashers and hackers. Spend just 44 minutes with a leper named Raimondakis (that's the fellow, above), the leader of an abandoned colony on the Cretan island of Spinalongaan, and you may be left with profound memories to last a lifetime, rather than merely a single jolt on All Hallows Eve.

To be completely honest here, the 1973 short film that features Raimondakis, L’ORDRE by Jean-Daniel Pollet, does not screen until the day after Halloween, but it is part of a week-long, first-time (in the USA, at least) retrospective that begins October 31 and covers the work of M. Pollet, a much-vaunted filmmaker who was a revered member of the famous French New Wave and yet remains nearly unknown in the USA. This, I submit, is due in good part to our film media's (and film-goers') need to limit fame to a relatively small and easily-remembered crew that includes the usual suspects: Chabrol, Godard, Rivette, Rohmer, and Truffaut.

The ever-industrious (and rather amazing, when one considers its year-in, year-out programming) Anthology Film Archives is presenting the retrospective with support from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and Jackie Raynal. The entire Pollet program can be found here. (In addition to Raynal, thanks are also due, says the AFA, to Delphine Selles, Sandrine Butteau, Nathalie Charles and Nicolas Denoize (Cultural Services of the French Embassy); Boris Pollet; Pierre André Boutang; Françoise Gessler; Gaël Teicher (P.O.M. Films); Emilie Cauquy and Samantha LeRoy (Cinémathèque Française); Laurence Berbon & Philippe Chevassu (Tamasa Distribution); Jonathan Howell (New Yorker Films); Cyril Neyrat; Hedi El Kholti; Jean-Louis Leutrat; Sam DiIorio; and Michael Chaiken.)

(above: from Jean-Daniel Pollet's MÉDITERRANÉE)

Now, how did someone as film- and history-challenged as I even know about the work of M. Pollet? The truth is, I knew nothing at all until last week, when I happened to rent the newly-released DVD of the very enjoyable six-part narrative Paris vu par. There I discovered that the offerings of the three filmmakers I'd never hear of -- Pollet, Jean Rouch and Jean Douchet -- were every bit as good as the work of the three grand old masters Chabrol, Godard, and Rohmer. (For a more complete review, simply scroll down to the next post.) Pollet's piece covers ground walked many times over -- an assignation between a prostitute and her john -- yet it is as good, maybe better, than any other of this ilk that I recall. It's shorter, too. (Each episode in the film lasts around 15 minutes.)

The actors -- Micheline Dax and Claude Melki -- are on-point throughout, and Pollet creates a time, place and relationship with wonderful economy, zest and an utter lack of sentimentality. Going in, you'll think "I've seen this before"; going out, you'll know you have not. The bug-eyed and doleful Melki, by the way, who died in 1994, possessed quite a special quality, and Pollet used him in at least three of his films: the 20 minute Pourvu qu'on ait l'ivresse (1958), the 20-minute Gala from 1961, and Paris vu par. (Pollet evidently preferred the short film form; only two in this retrospective are full-length.) Some of Melki's dolefullness can now be found in the performances of his nephew, the ubiquitous Gilbert Melki (Lucas Belvaux's Trilogy: One, Two & Three, Changing Times and Cote d'Azur).

As eager as I am to see Let the Right One In, this Halloween I think I shall try my best to take in -- and learn more about -- the work of Jean-Daniel Poillet. In addition, AFA has just announced that the filmmaker's son, noted artist Boris Pollet, will introduce many of the retrospective's screenings and present slide-shows of his own work (one of which, Corrida, is shown above), including paintings related to the oeuvre of his father, particularly the seminal film MÉDITERRANÉE, which will be shown Friday, October 31, at 7:15; Saturday, November 1, at 9:00; and Monday, November 3 at 7:30.