Name: Le rouge de Chine
Genre: Fantasy
Released: 1979-01-03
Duration: 1 h 20 min
Rating: 6.6
Cast: Agathe Vannier, Jacques Richard, Bojena Horackova

Enigmatic glimpses of the cinema's naissance.

Jacques Richard worked with Henri Langlois at the Cinematheque Francaise and in a way became one of the 'children of the cinematheque'. This is the film that most shows the effects of that experience.

Shot in a mixture of ultra-high contrast black and white and muted grainy colour images, it is, in many ways, a meditation on death. 

 But here is not the highly articulate narrative of La Chambre Verte.  Le Rouge de Chine plays with images barely recognisable. Here there be vampires - the vampires of Feuillade as well as Murnau. This is non-narrative cinema, magical to those who want to push out the limits of cinema but excruciating to those who want only variations on that which they have already seen. 

 There are also wonderful moments of dislocation between image and sound. An avant garde film then? Yes and no. Yes because Richard takes a look at what cinema might be, no because it is evident to those who wish to see that he grounds his work in that matchlessly precious quality of stylistic innocence that made the silent cinema the art's most perfect expression.

French-language cinema, whether in France, Québec, or other Francophone regions, explores cultural identity, social change, and the tension between the individual and society. French cinema is not only celebrated for its intellectual experimentation and auteur traditions, but also its success in mainstream comedy, romance, and commercial entertainment. In Québec, films often focus on questions of language, belonging, and community within a distinct cultural landscape.

Jean-Pierre Léaud in The 400 Blows (1959)

The fantasy genre features imaginative and often magical worlds, characters, and events. It explores realms beyond the boundaries of reality, featuring elements such as magic, mythical creatures, supernatural powers, and fantastical settings. These stories can take place in entirely fictional worlds or blend fantastical elements with real-world settings.

Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

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Le rouge de Chine

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