Gradiva (C'est Gradiva qui vous appelle)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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C'est Gradiva qui vous appelle (2006) is a French language film by Alain Robbe-Grillet starring: James Wilby, Arielle Dombasle and Dany Verissimo. The film, Grillet's last, was a Franco-Belgian production based on Gradiva: A Pompeiian Fancy by Wilhelm Jensen. It premiered at the 2006 Venice film festival on September 8 and in French cinemas on May 9 of 2007.
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Synopsis
The film is roughly based on the earlier Gradiva novel, although updated to modern times (at least, no earlier than the 1970s, based on vehicles and appliances seen in the film). It begins with an English art historian named John Locke who is doing research in Morocco on the paintings and drawings that French artist Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863) produced when he spent time in that country (back then, a French colony) more than a century before. Locke spots a beautiful, mysterious blonde girl (Gradiva, of course) in flowing robes dashing through the back alleys of Marrakech, and becomes consumed with the need to track her down. Like most of Robbe-Grillet's cinematic output, this film is highly surrealistic and also involves a surprisingly explicit amount of "sex slave" nudity and S&M, although it is a serious film and not just softcore fluff.
Fiche technique
- Titre : Gradiva (C'est Gradiva qui vous appelle)
- Réalisation : Alain Robbe-Grillet
- Scénario : Alain Robbe-Grillet, d'après Gradiva, roman de Wilhelm Jensen
- Photographie : Dominique Colin
- Montage : France Duez
Distribution
- James Wilby : John Locke
- Arielle Dombasle : Leila / Gradiva
- Dany Verissimo : Belkis
- Farid Chopel : Anatoli
- Lotfi Yahya Jedidi : Le mendiant
- Marie Espinosa : Claudine
- Farida Khelfa : Elvira
- Faycal Attougui : Guard
- Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni : Commissaire Madhi
- Pascal Judelewicz : Le photographe
- Asmaa Bouafia : Nina
- Siham Lahkim : Servante
- Hamid Nider : Kaleb
- Zineb Nijih : Djamila
See also