JENTENDS PLUS LA GUITARE (Philippe Garrel). 95 minutes. Subtitled. Screens Friday (May 9) and Saturday (May 10) at 7 pm at Jackman Hall.
Rating: NNNN
The first movement of JEntends Plus La Guitare takes a little getting used to Philippe Garrels 1991 semiautobiographical reminiscence of his on-and-off affair with Velvet Underground singer Nico has the static framing and measured pace of a storyteller on the nod. And thats as it should be, since the characters drug habit is both an enabler and symptom of their codependent relationship.
And once you get into its rhythms, the film is as seductive as the blonde Marianne (Johanna Ter Steege), the enigmatic, mercurial woman who bewitches Benoit Regents Gerard, the Garrel surrogate who glumly endures the phases of her interest. When shes fully present in their relationship, hes slightly less mopey than usual, and willing to discuss philosophy with his friends when her affections fade out, he retreats into himself and a succession of other women.
Its all very glum and very French, and Garrel does flirt with self-parody in letting his characters sulk so profoundly for so long, especially once they start snorting heroin. But by that point hopefully weve already fallen into their rhythms, and are invested in their situation. Basically, if you dont run screaming from the theatre at the bathroom intimacy scene – which was probably shocking in its bluntness in 1991 but now feels awfully precious youll find much here to appreciate.
