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La Naissance de l'amour
(Philippe Garrel, 1993)
She (Ulrika/Johanna
Ter Steege) is in focus, he (Paul/Lou Castel) is out-of-focus: this magnificent
double-portrait 'conveys both absence and presence' (Pascal). Because
of the lens used, the characters are at once extremely close to each other
physically, and yet very far away dramatically. This relation adds up
to what Daniel Sibony calls a 'link/break'. The moment of greatest proximity
and intimacy is also the moment where Philippe Garrel's characters offer
evidence of their most radical and profound difference. The essence of
the director's later films is contained in this single image.
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