Gang Of Four
“With
a strong female
cast, the Berlin Film
Festival award-winning
film, Gang of Four
(La Bande Des Quatre)
is one of Jacques
Rivette’s best-loved
works — packed
with some sinister
goings-on and the odd
comedy moment...”
FILMED IN 1988, IT IS THE STORY OF FOUR TALENTED YOUNG ACTRESSES who are
hand-picked to study the Marivaux's Double Infidelities under
famed actress and director Constance Dumas (Frequent Jacques Rivette collaborator
Bulle Ogier, Celine And Julie Go Boating).
Constance is a hard taskmaster and a woman of mystery. She lives above the theatre
and hardly ever goes out. "The theatre is made for emotions," she says, as she
coaches her actresses — she will only
ever consider girls; never boys.
The four actresses — Anna van Damme (Fejria Deliba), Claud (Laur-ence Côte),
Joyce (Bernadette Giraud) and Lucia (Ines d'Almeida) — live together in
an old, run-down house in the suburb of Monfermeil. Their friend Cécile Morin
(Nathalie Richard), who is just moving out, is behaving oddly and hedges about
telling her house-mates where she
is going or giving them a telephone number. As she hands over her keys to Anna,
she alludes to the room being haunted.
Anna — who is seeking her missing sister who disappeared three years before
— is also a gifted photographer and uses her skill to pay for her dream
of being a successful actress. While at an exhibition she meets
a strange man who says his name is Henri Demarsais (Benoît Régent). He has a
great line in chat-ups — while holding two glasses of wine, he asks Anna
to free one of his hands so she takes a glass from him.
When she leaves the exhibition, Anna is attacked by two men. Henri — who
has followed her — rescues her and drives her home, but she is concerned
when he mentions Cécile Morin and asks her to deliver an ambiguous message with
hints at illegal and dangerous dealings.
Anna becomes even more alarmed when she discovers that the others have had similar
approaches — from men called Tomas, Lucien and Raymond — and she is
convinced they are the same man. Claud says: "He's a kind of department store
— you find everything in him!"
So when Claud sees Cécile with alleged criminal Antoine Lucas, alarm bells ring
all round. Who is the sinister Henri/Tomas/Lucien/Raymond?
Is he a good guy or a bad guy? What has Cécile become involved with, and which
one of the four isn't who she says she is?
Before long, the women appear to let the text from their play seep into and
influence their off-stage lives, leading to suspense and sexual intrigue. Gripping
and dynamic throughout, The Gang of Four is a classic and invigorating
drama.
From Pierre Grise productions, the film also features Pascale Salkin as Corinne,
Dominique Rousseau as Pauline, Agnès Sourdillon as Jeanne and Irina Dalle as
Esther.
•
Gang of Four is released on 25 February (2008) at an RRP of £14.99. Language:
French (Subtitled).
“With
a strong female