Based on the novel L’Incident by Christian Gailly, Alain Resnais’ Wild Grass is this year’s Opening Night film. The venerable filmmaker earns this coveted spot by passing along his sheer intoxication with the medium, parachuting any stuffy formalism or burdened dialogue for the pleasure of light and shadow.
We enter the film through a magical doorway and a smirking voice-over warmly takes us in. The visage of our heroine is coyly denied and we are left with the indeterminacy of feet and a torso as Marguerite is described in whimsical detail. The central incident referenced by the novel occurs when her purse is stolen by an anonymous hand. At this very instant the narrative enters rarefied territory. The yellow purse is suspended in air and flails in glorious slow motion, while lit by the softest light. Purse becomes legend in the blink of a cinematic eye.
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Filed under: Andre Dussolier, Christian Gailly, L'incident, New York Film Festival, Sabine Azema, alain resnais, wild grass
