Where Lies Your Hidden Smile?
Pedro Costa, France/Portugal, 2001, 35mm, 109 min
One of the best films about filmmaking ever made, Costa’s documentary on Straub-Huillet is also comedy of the highest order. “This film portrait presents an extraordinary look into the creative process of filmmaking through a case study of longtime collaborators Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, who are carefully observed at work reediting their recent feature SICILIA! …Costa meticulously records the dialectic, argumentative mode the filmmakers use to reach decisions about each cut... Equally compelling is the documentation of Straub’s close commentary on techniques from such diverse influences as Chaplin and Eisenstein. This remarkable documentary, an episode from the landmark series ‘Cinema of our Time,’ is a brilliant examination of the art of editing and a meditation on the aesthetic and political implications of film technique.” -Harvard Film Archive
Preceded by
NE CHANGE RIEN (2005, BETA-SP, 13 min)
Costa films actress-turned-chanteuse Jeanne Balibar.
Followed by
6 BAGATELAS (2001, BETA-SP, 18 min)
Six additional moments of life with Jean-Marie and Danièle Straub.