Nathalie Granger (1972)
Nathalie Granger(1972) Directed by Marguerite Duras. Written by Marguerite Duras. Starring Jean Moreau; Lucia Bose; Gerard Depardieau; Valerie Moscolo
Born in 1914 in what was then called Indochina, Duras lived in Vietnam and Cambodia until moving to Paris in 1934 at age 20. Earning a law degree, she worked as a journalist, but would go on to write over 40 novels, numerous screenplays, and plays. She would also direct, and was part of a group of auteur filmmakers labeled Groupe Rive Gauche, or The Left Bank directors, which included Alain Resnais; Alain Robbe-Grillet; Chris Marker; and Agnes Varda. On the whole, they were slightly older than the directors in The French New Wave, and differed in that their sphere of influence was mostly from literary sources as opposed to other films. Duras wrote the screenplay for Hiroshima Mon Amourwith Resnais and also produced the novel L’amant (her most famous), the source for the film, The Lover(1992). Nathalie Granger stars Jeanne Moreau as The Other Woman; and Lucia Bose as Isabelle, two friends whose relationship is never fully explained. This nearly plot-less drama is steeped in minimalism with long, static black and white composition, and multiple shots through mirrors revealing the story of young Nathalie (Valerie Mascolo), the title character, a disruptive student who gets expelled from school. Her mom, Isabelle, and her female friend hope that a transfer to boarding school will be better for her, and ruminate on ideas such as the girls interest in piano being an outlet and potential curative for her issues. Demonstrating little emotion, we watch the two women smoke, sit, do household chores, and at one point a bumbling washing machine salesman (Gerard Depardieu) arrives to try to sell them equipment they already own. Weaved into the slim narrative are media reports about some local criminals. Duras’ aesthetic would greatly influence other French female directors like Claire Denis and Chantel Ackerman. Not something for those looking for excitement or mere entertainment, Nathalie Granger is lethargically paced and difficult to contextualize, though clearly well constructed and admirable for an almost obstinate refusal to adopt traditional narrative accouterments. While it may be something of an exercise of form as opposed to a fully realized narrative it is an artful construct. Comparable to some of Godard’s latter work, as well as films from the aforementioned directors who share Duras’ place in cinema history.