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36 Vues du Pic Saint Loup
Around a Small Mountain
Questione di Punti di Vista / 36 Views of Saint-Loup Peak
France/Italy 2009
produced by Martine Marignac, Maurice Tinchant for Pierre grise Productions, France 2, Cinemaundici, RAI, Alien Produzioni, Canal+, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
directed by Jacques Rivette
starring Jane Birkin, Sergio Castellitto, André Marcon, Jacques Bonnaffé, Julie-Marie Parmentier, Hélène de Vallombreuse, Tintin Orsoni, Vimala Pons, Mikael Gaspar, Stéphane Laisné, Dominique D'Angelo, Hélène De Bissy, Pierre Barayre, Marie-Paule André, Julie-Anne Roth, Elodie Mamou, Laurent Lacotte, Marie Vauzelle
written by Pascal Bonitzer, Christine Laurent, Jacques Rivette
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Rather by chance, Kate (Jane Birkin), who's working at a circus, meets
Vittorio (Sergio Castellitto), a mysterious travelling man, and he soon
becomes fascinated with her circus, and the best friend with the circus's
head clown Alexandre (André Marcon). For the next couple of weeks, he
follows the circus wherever it goes, never misses a performance, and
starts to become more and more involved with the whole troupe. However,
Kate soon becomes the focus of his interest, and her fear of the circus as
such, which dates back to a horrible, fatal accident her boyfriend has had
15 years ago, which is why she has never again dared to enter the arena
itself anymore. With the help of Alexandre and the others, Vittorio makes
up a plan that involves a dangerous performance comparable to that her
boyfriend has died at, and this way, he manages to finally lure Kate back
to performing and helps her to finally overcome her 15 year old fears.
Once that is accomplished though, Vittorio simply leaves once more. A
charming little film that really manages to translate the atmosphere of
the tiny circus the whole story takes place in onto the screen, including
all of its virtues and shortcomings. However, charming does not
necessarily equal good, and this film does have its problems on a
narrative level, especially in the character of Vittorio, who simply lacks
motivation throughout the picture - and that's not to say he's the mystery
element of the tale, he's actually simply a zero in the equation,
something the film could have done without. Sure, the guy's charming, and
Sergio Castellitto plays him well enough, but he's never fleshed out on
one hand while on the other hand, his narrative necessity is at best
questionable. Actually, without Vittorio, this could have been a great
drama, as it is, it's just a little story. Pity, in some ways.
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