#c’est gradiva qui vous appelle
you know, every time James Wilby is interviewed they ask him about Maurice but what they SHOULD be asking him is what the fuck was up with “C'est Gradiva qui vous appelle”
i have so so so many questions…….
#it’s so fucked up i don’t know why it exists #and he does the whole thing in french??? that’s so impressive???#SPOILER: when he’s dressed up as Delacroix… girl what? girl…. girl what?
Yes, and indeed. It’s loosely based on a novel by Wilhelm Jensen, but (I only learned this recently) the novel is famous mainly because first Freud, and then a load of male Surrealists, latched onto it (and onto the Gradiva as a Surrealist muse): https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/gradiva/
As for writer/director Robbe-Grillet’s film, the best I can do is that it’s meant to be highly allusive/intertextual (hence James’ character being named John Locke plus all the art-historical stuff), and also reflexively ‘about’ Orientalism (hence James’ relationship *cough* with Belkis and his *cough* kink fantasies). Robbe-Grillet’s films are known for their cinematic references, too, which led me to wonder whether certain shots knowingly reference Maurice, but really IDEK. James looks and sounds very good indeed, though. And Essaouira (the location) is one of my favourite places.
