JULIETTE, OR KEY OF DREAMS

 

While recently searching for lesser known European fairy-tale films to discover and watch, I came across this 1951 effort by French director Marcel Carne. It appeared to be a neglected film with not a lot being written about it, and relatively few people having seen it. However, just looking at the stills that I was able to find from the film, I knew that it was one that I had to see and I was fairly certain that it was going to appeal to me, as it seemed to have a visual quality that was similar to Jean Cocteau's sublime “La Belle et la Bete” (the gold star of all fairy-tale films). Whilst it took me a little while to finally track down a copy of the film to watch, I am happy to report that I was successful in my search, but did the film live up to my “fairy-tale” expectations, lets take a look, shall we?

Michel lies awake and restless in his prison cell, haunted by the memory of his lost love Juliette, when his cellmate turns to him and tells him to escape his current situation via his dreams and to find freedom within them. Soon after, Michel awakens to find the door of his cell to be wide open and the sunlight from outside bursting through, inviting him to venture beyond the boundaries of his incarceration. Michel leaves the prison in search of Juliette, and soon comes across a small village. When he asks a nearby stranger the name of the village, the man laughs and says “that is something we would all like to know”, as Michel soon discovers that all the inhabitants of this quaint town all have no memory of their past lives. As one villager states “welcome to the city of lost memories”. Determined to find Juliette, Michel asks anyone who passes by him of news of his love, but is amused to find that either they claim Juliette to be of their own (be it either their daughter, wife or something else entirely), or they are the only person to know of such a girl. He soon discovers that Juliette is in the village, and continues searching for her within a beautiful forest. Meanwhile, upon hearing that a young man is searching for a beautiful maiden, a villainous Count decides to use this information to his advantage and pretend that it is he that is the one who is looking for Juliette (for remember, Juliette herself has no memory of the man who loves her), determined to claim her love for his own self. So Michel soon finds himself in a story that involves a hero, a villain and a quest to save a beautiful heroine, that is all situated in a village filled with enchanting forests and terrifying castles; Michel has found himself in the centre of a fairy-tale It all seems like a bizarre dream, but no one can dream forever.

When it comes to the career of Marcel Carne, most people remember him for the stunning sequence of films that he made between the years of 1936 (starting with “Jenny”) and 1946 (ending with “Les Portes de la Nuit”), in collaboration with writer Jacques Prevert. Between the two of them, they essentially pioneered the “poetic realism” movement of French cinema during this time. With bonafide classics like “Port of Shadows” (1938) and “Children of Paradise” (1945) to his name, Marcel Carne was once considered one of the great directors of French cinema, however his post-war output is rarely greeted with the same acclaim or reverence. “Juliette, or Key of Dreams” was the second film Carne made post-war, and personally I feel that it has been unjustly ignored in regards to the great films made by this fine director.

Interestingly, the way that “Juliette, or Key of Dreams” opens is almost like a nod to the poetic realism films of Carne's past, as it is set very much in the real world, with Michel (who is very obviously a proletariat worker) set for a future that appears dark and depressing. Visually, it is the same too, with the cell that he lives in being one with minimal light and the atmosphere within it to be one with little hope. However that all changes once Michel's cellmate tells him to escape through his dreams, as then the film becomes beautiful and bright, filled with light and space, and the anticipation of a future filled with optimism. The film looks exactly like a beautiful fairy-tale, with the depth of field quite incredible. However it is when Juliette first enters the film that you really sit up and take notice. She looks like the perfect princess, and you are instantly reminded of Belle in Cocteau's “La Belle et la Bete”. In fact the similarities between that film, and the dream segment of “Juliette, or Key of Dreams”, are hard to ignore, at least from a visual perspective. No doubt this is deliberate too, as Carne uses Henri Alekan as his cinematographer on this film, who also had the same duties on the Cocteau masterpiece. Alekan does an expert job of creating a sense of magic and whimsy via the visuals, and when the film does get a little darker, like when the figure of Bluebeard is introduced to the story, he finds interesting angles to shot from and uses shadows to give the picture a menace that didn't exist prior. I should also mention, that Alekan does an excellent job at differentiating between the scenes set in reality and those in the dreamworld. The real world scenes are all lit very darkly, and give a feeling of hopelessness and oppression; the complete opposite feeling that we feel in the fairy-tale dream.

What I loved so much about “Juliette, or Key of Dreams” is the imagination of it all especially during the scenes set in the City of Lost Memories. Because everyone in the village has no memories of their own, they will do anything to possess someone else's memories and claim them as theirs. The first instance of this is actually when Michel is walking past a woman and she exclaims “so you finally come home then!”, to which he replies “you are mistaken madam, this is my first time here”, and she follows up with “oh, I guess you aren't my husband then”. When Michel asks if anyone knows where Juliette is, the name of the girl starts a pandemic of false memories amongst the villagers with one person claiming she is his daughter, another his wife, whilst another says she is a name on a tombstone he visits daily, whilst another still claims it is a variety of rose that he sells. However what impressed me so much was the fortune teller who only tells people of their pasts (never their future), and the travelling salesman who offers souvenirs from holidays never taken, or mementos of moments that never happened, like for instance, a handkerchief stained with tears after a sad goodbye. What I found so interesting was that these characters did not care if the memory was really theirs, as long as they had a memory to hold onto, so they did not feel lost.

One thing that I should quickly mention is the fact that it is no spoiler that Michel is dreaming. It is not some third act twist where we find out that everything we have watched previous was only a dream, rather Carne sets it up right from the beginning so the viewer is not left confused that what is going on during the fairy-tale is anything but real. That said, the fairy-tale leaves clues throughout it about Michel's predicament in real life. The film has an odd structure in that the first ten or so minutes are set in reality, with the following hour then in the dreamworld, before we return to reality for the final fifteen minutes. It is during these final fifteen minutes where we see the truth of Michel's situation and why he so much wants to stay in that dream. Similar to “The Wizard of Oz”, once Michel awakens, we see a number of characters from his dream wearing a different visage in real life. But it also highlights just how different Michel's dream is from his reality as the one thing he wants more than anything in his life, is impossible to get. In fact, it gets even worse than he could imagine after he has woken up, to the point that Michel will do anything to find his way back into his dream, but no one can dream forever; you eventually have to wake up and face reality head-on. I must admit that I was initially shocked by the ending of the film which, from my reading of it, was very cynical and pessimistic. After spending the majority of the film in a fairy-tale consciousness, I kind of expected a happy ending, but after consideration and contemplation after the fact, I came to the conclusion that this is the right ending for the story and that it actually works extremely well too. I also felt a little foolish in my initial shock, as if taken in the context of Marcel Carne's “poetic realism” films (which I am sure the bookends of this film are meant to resemble), there could almost be no other ending than a tragic one.

Overall, whilst this was not a “true” fairy-tale film like I was initially expecting, I ended up liking “Juliette, or Key of Dreams” a great deal. Visually the film is outstanding, and feels close to the splendour of Cocteau's “La Belle et la Bete”. Ironically, in regards to me wanting the film to be closer to a real fairy-tale, I felt the inclusion of elements from the Bluebeard fairy-tale to be a little ham-fisted and didn't work as well as if they came up with their own villain of the piece. Other than that, I found the film a delight and after some initial shock, I also liked the film's cynical ending. While not a masterpiece from director Marcel Carne, it is a film that has been unjustly ignored, and I hope it gets rediscovered in the near future, as more people really need to see this very good film.

3.5 Stars.

 

UNDINE

 

After creating the WWII masterpiece that was “Phoenix” back in 2014, director Christian Petzold for all intents and purposes has a free pass in my eyes, in regards to his future work. This doesn't mean that I am going to blindly love everything he does or did from there on out, rather that I would always be anticipating whatever film he does make next, even if it is just to see if he can match the greatness of “Phoenix”. As luck would have it, I was one of the very few people who found his follow up, 2018's “Transit”, to be a massive disappointment. That said, it was still a technically very well made film, and once again, I was looking forward to what would come next from Petzold. Then in 2019, it was announced that he was working on a trilogy of stories that would be based on lesser known fairytales, and that the first was to be “Undine”. If I already wasn't anticipating Petzold's next film enough, having it being based on a fairytale certainly pushed it over the edge, and “Undine” made my list of most anticipated films of 2020. While 2020 turned out to be the year from hell, “Undine” was one of the lucky films to actually be completed and have a screening before the industry essentially shut down. It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival where it was met with middling reviews (despite the fact that Paula Beer came away with the Silver Lion for Best Actress for her work in the film), and word escaped that the fairytale elements weren't as prominent as I was hoping for, which was mainly due to the fact that “Undine” is set in the present. As such, my expectations tempered a little, but I think this worked to my advantage as I ended up loving this beautiful tale of love and loss.

“Undine” is based on a German fairytale novella of the same name that was written by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque and published in 1811. In the novella, a water nymph marries a knight so she can gain a human soul. However legend states that if this man is ever to betray her, she must then kill the man and return to her watery home, never to return again. Christian Petzold's version of the story is set in modern day Berlin where Undine works as a historian lecturing on the city's past, origins and urban developments through time. When we first enter the story, Undine is in the middle of a break up with Johannes, the love of her life. She is distraught, upset and very emotional and warns Johannes that if he leaves her, she will be forced to kill him. Due to give one of her talks in minutes, Undine demands Johannes to wait the half an hour until she is done, and if he is still waiting for her at the cafe, all will be fine. However when she returns, Johannes is gone. Undine is beside herself, as she hears a mysterious calling in her mind. While searching for Johannes, Undine meets with Christoph, a man who works as a deep sea diver, and who was a guest at her recent talk. Realising he has interrupted and upset the young woman, Christoph backs out of the cafe to give her space, and in doing so, accidentally knocks over a massive aquarium that shatters over both him and Undine. This moment is the catalyst that sees these two fall head over heels for one another, and may also lift the curse that hangs over Undine's head.

This is such a beautiful romantic story, with the fairytale elements often only hinted at, but they are still most definitely present within the film. While personally, I usually like my fairytales to go all out in their beauty and fantasy elements, I am happy to say that the way Petzold has transposed this story to modern day Berlin works wonderfully well. The romance between Undine and Christoph is the main meat of the story here, but the skeleton of the fairytale is woven beautifully throughout. The love story itself though just feels so real and true. These are two people that actually really love one another for who they are, what they are interested in, and what they do for a living. This isn't about lust or sex, this is a true love where both Undine and Christoph love each other fully. There is a great scene when Undine is practising one of her talks, and Christoph asks her to practise on him. She warns him that it is boring and very dry, and she is true to her word, but the way that Christoph stares at her throughout it, it is like he is mesmerised be her words. He is totally entranced by her in this moment, due to his love for her. This is a first for Undine this type of love, because when a similar moment happens earlier with her (now ex-) boyfriend Johannes, he is more dismissive of her work, cutting her off and telling her about a hotel room he has booked for the two of them. The same is true with Undine of Christoph's work, as he also takes her underwater to show her “his” world. This scene leads to one of the most surreal moments within the film as Undine loses consciousness whilst underwater and then being saved by a giant catfish. Apparently in the original fairytale, if Undine ever re-visits her world, she will then be unable to return to Earth, however in this version of the tale, Christoph brings her back via CPR (whilst singing to the tune of “Staying Alive”) and their bond grows stronger still. In regards to their work, I must say that I loved the irony that Petzold infused here in having a water creature work on land, whilst the land creature works underwater, so while the two get increasingly closer, there is still a tiny chasm between them. To portray the lovers of his film, Petzold turned to the stars of his previous film, Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, and they are both wonderful in their roles. In my review for “Transit”, I lament the fact that Rogowski and Beer's chemistry was almost non-existent, but that is certainly not the case in “Undine”. I'm not sure if it was the familiarity of working with someone they knew, but Beer and Rogowski have chemistry to burn here, and they are totally believable as a couple falling deeply and madly in love with one another, whilst filled with absolute respect for the other. Both actors have incredible energy in “Undine”, and are often beaming with happiness. However, that is not to say that their love affair is without struggle or sadness, but both Beer and Rogowski also are excellent at portraying their pain and depth of feeling and worry for their loved one.

Like all of Christian Petzold's films, “Undine” has been handsomely put together. Petzold has a core group of collaborators that he uses on each film and after so many films together, it must be just second nature as all of his films are expertly made. Hans Fromm, as usual, is tasked with cinematography duties and he has given “Undine” a glossy look that feels very warm and inviting. With water playing a large part within the story, the use of water imagery is very nicely done without ever feeling overdone, and I loved that large portions of the film were obviously shot underwater, and those scenes looked beautiful and otherworldly. The key set piece of the film, the aquarium shattering, has been filmed with such style, with the explosion of water and aquarium decorum (not to mention some poor fish) covering the actors, that gives the scene a sense of wonder and whimsy, perfect as the catalyst for this fairytale romance. Bettina Bohler edits the film to give it a nice leisurely pace, without it ever feeling slow and she does a great job of combining the real and fantasy elements so they feel true and that they naturally co-exist in this world Petzold has created. Speaking of Petzold, it goes without saying that his direction is exemplary and I feel that he has done a much better job here at transposing a story set for another time and setting it in the present, than he did with his previous film “Transit”. While I had massive issues with that story's WWII elements being set in the present, it just works so well in regards to this old fairytale. However, elements of “Transit” have still bled into “Undine” as Petzold once again looks at how the past can influence the present, and whether or not we, as a society, can move forward and evolve without coming to terms with and accepting our past.

Overall, Christian Petzold's “Undine” is just a lovely film. Whilst I usually like my fairytale films to embrace the fantasy elements head on, the light touches of fantastique works perfectly in the real world tale that Petzold is telling. It leans just enough into the magic and fantasy for the film to be read in two ways: either as a real world story with allusions to the fairytale, or a fairytale story with characters set in the real world. I actually like the fairytale reading of the story, and think it adds an extra poignancy to it, especially during its finale. The film is anchored by two fantastic performances from Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski (who both ooze chemistry), and the music (which I failed to mention) is just lovely and adds to the mystery and atmosphere of this beautiful film. It goes without saying that I am looking forward to the following two films in Christian Petzold's fairytale trilogy. He has already stated that the next film is titled “The Red Sky” and involves a homosexual love affair, so while I am not sure which fairytale this will be based on, I will definitely be looking forward to it. He has started this trilogy off perfectly with “Undine”.

 

4 Stars.