"I Want to Talk About Duras" poster
From the moment he read the first page of Duras, he could not help but fall in love with her. To be precise, it was her words. After that, reading other books and talking about Duras to others was considered a betrayal by himself. After six years of correspondence, they finally met. From that day on, he became her lover, actor, assistant, driver, and caregiver, even though the other person was 38 years older than her, even though he always thought that he did not love women. For the next sixteen years, Jan Andrea, a young man whose name was also changed from Duras, stayed with Duras until the last day of his life, becoming the last touch of her rich love history.
Do you think this is a couple of gods and immortals? But everyone knows that this love is so passionate that it is almost suffocating, and even has the tendency of emotional control and violence. And why did the young lover choose to return to Duras after a brief escape, and even chose to be buried with him after his death?
Compared with interpretation and reproduction, dictation leaves a freer space for interpretation.
The film is based on the recording of Jan Andrea's interview with journalist Michel Manseau in 1982. At that time, this lover, who was 38 years younger than Duras, had been living with her for two years. Facing Duras's best neighbor and well-known reporter, Yang confided in detail his identity change and mental journey from a fan to a lover, defined and interpreted this shocking love affair from his own perspective, and revealed his feelings for Duras. His love and admiration also reveal his fear and helplessness that the other party has complete control over his life.
" Truck " stills
The special thing about the movie is that 95% of the plot only takes place in a cramped attic room, and only Yang's self-narration. There are quite a few movies/dramas that are purely about talking. Duras himself completed "Truck" in the 1970s. Isn't the scene strikingly similar to "I Want to Talk About Duras"? Yes, this is Duras's villa in Lewbourg, a suburb of Paris. It is his writing base, where she and Young have lived for many years, and where Young was interviewed. In 1970, she used the attic as a set for filming "Truck." The reappearance of yesterday is not a coincidence, but Duras truly implemented the idea of using life as the field to construct her artistic world. Watching a talk movie like
will not feel boring. The first reason is, of course, the uniqueness of this experience.
"I want to talk about Duras" started when Young read "The Pony of Tarquinia" when he was 22 years old. This reading made Young, who studied philosophy, stop reading anyone else's works and only fell in love with Duras. After that, "Song of India" directed by Duras came to Young's small town to hold a movie viewing meeting. Young first asked the last question at the venue, which attracted Duras's attention. Later, after getting the idol's signature, I directly asked for the other person's address. After that, he started a correspondence that lasted for six years. During these six years, Duras occasionally replied to letters, but never forgot to give appropriate positive responses to the other party. For example, she would tell him that she was sick, and that Young's letter was very important to her, and she would keep the letter specially. Until one day, Young found Duras's phone number in the Yellow Pages through his real name, and it didn't take long for Duras to propose a meeting. But after seeing her, he couldn't leave her again. Young was 28 years old and Duras was 66 years old.
Stills of "I Want to Talk About Duras", Swann plays Duras's last lover Jan Andrea
Although the entire film is almost oral, this treatment is more attractive than "reappearance" Power, is this the principle of storytelling? Because the text/narration gives people more room for free interpretation. Through Yang's narration, each of us seems to be at the first scene and becomes a "voyeur" of this abnormal love in the past. It is true that from the perspective of novelty, this relationship also has the most disturbing label of "grandchild love", strong women and weak men, sexual orientation changes, emotional kidnapping/emotional manipulation, and even violence...
However, "I Want to Talk" "Talk about Duras" does not use the exaggerated language, tone, and interpretation of storytellers to mobilize the public's sense of voyeuristic "refreshment" about this celebrity love affair. On the contrary, both the director's approach and the actors' performances are extremely restrained.This makes our so-called "private journey" become subtle and profound. During the 90 minutes, there was an indescribable sadness and enthusiasm, with the slow-moving long shots undercurrent.
In terms of performance, Young’s contradictions are indeed extremely difficult to grasp amid the large number of close-ups. Shy, reserved and nervous, it did not prevent him from telling this bold and crazy love story in the most naked language. Swann, who played the role of the lawyer in the much-talked-about " crash " movie, was in his 40s when he played the role of Yang. His handling of Yang, who is less than 30 years old and lives a closed life, is delicate and full of tension. .
There is another intentional feature throughout the film, and that is Duras's "absence". You know, the interview took place at the country house where she and Yang lived together. The person who interviewed Yang was also her neighbor and best friend Michelle. This shows that even if this interview was not her initiative, it still had her tacit approval. However, the entire film only shows Michelle's perspective, giving Duras a half-silhouette through the window.
But in fact, Duras is "present" everywhere. Every sentence Young said was about her, and the incessant ringing during the interview was a stern reminder from Duras. And in the sporadic supplementary historical interviews/set records, we can directly feel her absolute control over Young. She lured Yang into her camera, but scolded him for being unprofessional, even using derogatory words. A very interesting detail is that when the interview was in full swing, Young suddenly asked the time, six fifteen - this was exactly the end time specified by Duras, exactly!
On top of the "documentary" background of the movie, there is also a "creation" that can be called a stroke of genius. That is to fill the imagination with illustrations. These explicit illustrations showing the intimate moments between the two appeared just in time for Michelle to meditate before going to bed after the interview on the first day. It’s Michelle’s reverie, and it’s also the reverie of every one of us viewers. Although extremely explicit, there is no sense of pornography. Indescribable sadness and depression appear in the sketched lines.
Compared with the paradoxical reality, what is more real is the flow of power in intimate relationships.
Compared with movies, reality is always more paradoxical. This pair's relationship, which appeared to be falling apart at any moment after only two years, actually lasted for sixteen years in real life! During this period, with the help of Young, Duras published a number of works. The most well-known is "The Lover", which is the young love memories of the young girl Duras, and the object of his confession is precisely in his twilight years. The young lover in front of me, Yang.
From this point of view, Yang's love may not be the submission that Michelle initially judged, nor the acceptance of Yang's self-defense. Power and control are always fluid. Duras, who seems to have absolute initiative and dominance, is the one who is most afraid of Yang's escape. So, she used her passionate love, the words of a tyrant, her overwhelming fame, her endless demands for desire, and her control that was almost under house arrest to keep this young lover. In turn, although Young once escaped and resisted Duras with the most direct violence, he was ultimately obsessed with the power represented by the words "possessing Duras". Internally, just the hesitation of recognizing sexual orientation can destroy Duras - unable to have the complete love of his lover, Duras, who has been asking for love all his life, undoubtedly has a fatal attraction, and it is also her deepest pain. .
The real
Marguerite Duras
and
Jan Andrea.
At the end of the movie, we learn that after Young gave the recording to Michelle for "temporary safekeeping", he did not get it back until his death in 2014 (of course, both parties had literary concerns about this relationship during their lifetimes. "Conclusive conclusion", that is, Duras's "Jan Andrea Steiner" and Young's "m.d"). Michelle then gave the recording to Young's sister for safekeeping. One year after Michelle's death, in 2016, with the authorization of Young's sister, the interview was finally published in a book, titled "I Want to Talk about Duras."
As for Michel himself, as Duras's "best friend", he published "Friends" about Duras as early as 1997. This book was also introduced to domestic publication in 1999.At that time, because she revealed Duras's birth year, she was accused of "betrayal" by the other party and broke off the relationship. However, although the book also records the details of Young's interaction with Duras, it does not mention the content of the recording. Whether it was respect for old friends, respect for Yang, or professional quality requirements, she kept this secret.
Of course, we are also lucky to be able to see this "secret" again. This not only completes the understanding of Duras by thousands of readers who love Duras; it also allows us viewers to naturally return from the gossip anecdotes and speculations of "famous women and little puppies" to something more... Thinking about universal intimacy: What is love? What can love bring? What can love destroy?
It can be seen that the secret of a long-lasting relationship ultimately lies outside literature and outside movies.
Author: Huang Qizhe
Text: Huang Qizhe Picture: Stills Editor: Guo Chaohao Editor: Shao Ling
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