In Around a Small Mountain, a chance meeting on the road leads to romance. If only it were that simple, Rivette wouldn’t still be making character dramas at 81. Best known for his playful, subversive Nouvelle Vague works, here the undervalued master tells a story of glorious, missed opportunities. A kind stalker, Vittorio (Sergio Castellitto), follows Kate, a subdued Jane Birkin, into town after he helps her with a stalled car. She invites him to attend a circus, in which she is a performer. He proceeds to invite himself into her life, one scarcely lived for fifteen years.
The story at hand is a culmination of tragic events from the past. Kate has never forgiven herself for her lover’s mishap. The circumstances are too delicious to spoil, but they caused her to leave the circus and her family. Her prodigal return is initiated to memorialize her father’s death. He was the founder of the circus and an authoritarian figure who disapproved of her relationship. The present offers a chance to exorcise demons, get to know the sister and niece she left behind, and start a new relationship. Vittorio, a stranger, serves as the ideal catalyst for all these overdue mileposts.
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Filed under: 36 vues du Pic Saint-Lou, Jane Birkin, Paris, around a small mountain, circus, clowns, jacques rivette
