Balthus Through the Looking Glass
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| Balthus Through the Looking Glass | |
|---|---|
 French DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Damian Pettigrew |
| Produced by | Olivier Gal, Planète (France) |
| Written by | Damian Pettigrew |
| Narrated by | Bernard Verley |
| Starring | Balthus Philippe Noiret Jean Leymarie Jean Clair François Rouan James Lord Antoinette de Watteville Pierre Rosenberg André Barelier Setsuko and Harumi Klossowska de Rola Stanislaus and Thadée Klossowski de Rola |
| Music by | Mozart Faton Cahen |
| Cinematography | Paco Wiser |
| Editing by | Florence Ricard |
| Distributed by | Arte Vidéo |
| Release date(s) | 1996 |
| Running time | 72 min. |
| Country |  France |
| Language | French English Italian |
| Budget | $450,000 (estimated) |
| IMDb profile | |
Balthus Through the Looking-Glass (French: Balthus de l'autre côté du miroir) is a 1996 French documentary film directed by Damian Pettigrew on the French painter Balthus filmed at work in his studio.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The feature length documentary highlights the painter's complex creative process with rare footage of the artist at work in his studio in the Swiss mountain village of Rossinière. Conversations with Balthus and his wife Setsuko, his daughter Harumi, his sons Stanislaus and Thadée, interviews with art critics Jean Leymarie, Jean Clair, Pierre Rosenberg, and James Lord, and with French painter François Rouan (who often assisted Balthus during his tenure at the Villa Medici), contribute to form a rich psychological portrait of a secretive and controversial artist.
Also featured are photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Irving Penn, and much unpublished material. Shot in Super 16 over a 12-month period in Switzerland, Italy, France, and the Moors of England, the film captures Balthus's unique vision and extraordinary lifestyle.
[edit] Quotes from the film
François Rouan: "The central question of painting, and particularly in Balthus's work, is the sexual dimension. If Balthus were here, he'd light up a cigarette, yet another one, and assume a humorous air, naturally he would let me have my say, and then he'd conclude by telling me that the young women he paints are angels."
Jean Leymarie: "Angels, as Rilke noted, are terrifying. And beauty itself is terrifying."
Jean Clair: "Perhaps his greatest moments are when his cruelty explodes onto the canvas. Balthus possesses a Sadean element."
Balthus: "The quickest way to become famous during the 1930s was by causing a scandal."
[edit] Awards
- 1996: Grand Prize - XXIst UNESCO International Festival of Art Films
- 1996: Best Photography Prize - Lausanne International Art Film Festival
- 1996: Official Selection - 8th International VUE SUR LES DOCS Marseille
[edit] Critical reception
Télérama, the prominent French weekly magazine, described the film as “a beautiful portrait, vibrant, varied and, beyond the magnificent images, tender, respectful, and admiring.” [1]
“Grace to his habits and customs captured on film,” wrote Hervé Gaumont, art critic for Libération, "the master’s slowness is admirably rendered.” [2]
Le Journal des Arts praised the “subtle approach, neither didactic nor pedagogical, that succeeds in capturing the painter’s intimate world.”[3]
Art critic Florence Couturiau reviewed the film in Muséart as one “shot with precision and magic, from Paris to Rome by way of Balthus’s Italian castle. The geometry of the compositions and the subtlety of the painter’s palette shine through each frame of film.” [4]
Le Figaro admired the “visually stunning portrait” but regretted the artist’s legendary reserve: “The film follows the artist as one follows a patriarch walled up in his own wisdom. Some words murmured, paintings that fill the screen with their imprecise forms, and the Balthus mystery thickens while haloed in colors.” [5]
Michel Parmentier of TéléCable Satellite applauded its intimate approach: “Near-definitive, the portrait examines the key moments of the painter’s life and, more importantly, plunges the viewer into his strange and haunting universe… Balthus reveals various secrets. The level of intimacy is such that Pettigrew’s documentary becomes an exceptional work.” [6]
It was acclaimed in Le Nouvel Observateur as “a successful and deeply moving portrait.” [7]
[edit] DVD
The feature documentary is available in an international DVD edition released by Arte Vidéo in October 2007 (NTSC / All zones format). The 2-disc anamorphically enhanced Collectors Edition includes the 72' theatrical version together with bonus material featuring:
- Three Balthusian Lessons - a 24' documentary with Jean Clair, Jean Leymarie and François Rouan based on the sacred, the profane, and the Japanese Zen concept of satori;
- Tea at the Grand Chalet - a 10' document with Anna, Balthus's last adolescent model, taking afternoon tea with the painter and his wife at the Grand Chalet. In the course of their easy-going conversations, the painter's sunny mood clouds over when he considers the work on his easel as a daunting challenge.
[edit] References
- ^ Céna, Olivier, Télérama, No. 2448, 14-20 December 1996, p. 34.
- ^ Gaumont, Hervé, Libération, December 16 1996, p. 22.
- ^ Tauss, Céline, ‘Balthus intime’, Le Journal des Arts, December 1996, p. 37.
- ^ Couturiau, Florence, Muséart, No. 78, January 1998, p. 26.
- ^ Borde, Dominique, Le Figaro, 16 January 1997, p. 36.
- ^ Parmentier, Michel, TéléCable Satellite, 14-20 December 1996, p. 31.
- ^ Le Nouvel Observateur, 12-18 January 1997, p. 33.
[edit] External links
- Balthus de l'autre côté du miroir at the Internet Movie Database
- Balthus de l'autre côté du miroir Le Centre de Film sur l'Art - Cahier didactique (French)
