Le Révélateur (1968)

I actually knew beforehand that I wouldn't appreciate this film. There is a certain type of experimental film from the late sixties/early seventies that really does absolutely nothing for me, and the description of Le Révélateur pointed very strongly in that direction. But I am a fan of the music that Radwan Ghazi Moumneh released under the artist name Jerusalem in My Heart, and I have also seen good performances by him before. So I went to this screening mainly for the live soundtrack by Moumneh with the Réka Csiszér, whom I did not know. Moreover, it was only a €5 surcharge on top of the Cineville pass and just over an hour long, so it wouldn't be a disaster if it turned out to be completely rubbish.

Unfortunately, my prediction regarding the film turned out to be true. It’s not even that I thought it was really bad, but it completely passed me by without touching me at any point. The little boy also had absolutely no acting talent and regularly just sat staring straight into the camera. And then something like the Bible as toilet paper: sixties clichés don't grow up that way. I soon found myself paying much more attention to the musicians than to the screen. If the film had actually been shown completely silent, as creator Philippe Garrel originally intended, I probably would have left after half an hour.

But the concert was quite good. 3.5 stars for that. Not higher, because since it has to fit the film, I kind of missed the truly ecstatic moments that were present in the Jerusalem in My Heart concerts.

(Seen at Eye Filmmuseum)

Translated from Dutch · View original