| L'Immortelle | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Alain Robbe-Grillet |
| Written by | Alain Robbe-Grillet |
| Starring | Françoise Brion |
| Cinematography | Maurice Barry |
| Editing by | Bob Wade |
| Release date(s) | 27 March 1963 |
| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | France Turkey |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $100,000 (approx.) |
L'Immortelle is a 1963 French-Turkish drama film directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet. It was entered into the 13th Berlin International Film Festival.[1] The film won the Prix Louis Delluc at the Berlin Festival.
L'Immortelle is set in Istanbul. The narrative does not run strict in chronological order, but rather uses extensive flashbacks, "memory editing," and dreamlike fantasy sequences which border on the surreal to tell its story. The characters are Turkish apart from the Man, who does not understand the native language. Thus, only the French dialogue is translated in the English subtitles for the film; the Turkish dialogue remains a mystery to western audiences, and to the Man, as well.
Robbe-Grillet, who was one of the most successful screenwriters of the French New Wave, longed to direct a feature film, but no offers of backing were forthcoming. At length, a Belgian producer agreed to let Robbe-Grillet direct a film from his own screenplay on the condition that the film be shot in Turkey, using "blocked funds" (profits from an earlier film that could not be taken out of the country) owed to Cocinor, the French production company. Robbe-Grillet complied, and in his first feature film as a director, created a dreamlike, erotic fantasy.
Robbe-Grillet wrote a very detailed plan for the shooting and wanted it followed in every detail. Both Brion and Doniol-Valcroze were friends of the director; though he had written the scenario with other actors in mind he decided on them instead.[2]
The film has never been legally available on DVD, and at present circulates only in bootlegs, and in 35mm prints circulated by the French Cultural Ministry, which loans the film to museums and colleges from time to time. Thus, the film is almost impossible to see. Dino de Laurentiis acquired the Italian distribution rights after production, and officially, in the film's credits, L'Immortelle is listed as French/Italian co-production, although it was shot entirely in and around Istanbul, with a mostly Turkish crew.
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