
L'Hypothèse du tableau volé (The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting)
Regie: Raúl Ruiz; Drehbuch: Raúl Ruiz, Pierre Klossowski nach Klossowskis Roman Le Baphomet; Kamera: Sacha Vierny, Maurice Perrimond; Schnitt: Patrice Royer, Maurice Perrimond; Musik: Jorge Arriagada; Darsteller*innen: Jean Rougeul, Jean Reno, Anne Debois, Chantal Palay. FR, 1978, DCP (von 35mm), sw, 64 min. Französisch mit engl. UTPreceded by:
Colloque de chiens (Dog's Dialogue)
Regie: Raúl Ruiz; Drehbuch: Raúl Ruiz, Nicole Muchnik; Kamera: Denis Lenoir; Schnitt: Valeria Sarmiento; Musik: Jorge Arriagada; Darsteller*innen: Hugo Santiago, Eva Simonet, Raúl Ruiz. FR, 1977, 35mm, Farbe, 22 min. Französisch mit engl. UT
L'Hypothèse du tableau volé is Ruiz's second collaboration with cinematographer Sacha Vierny and author and painter Pierre Klossowski: a piece of research staged with meticulously argued interpretations and artfully reconstructed tableaux-vivants that revolves around a blank space – a missing image in a series of seven paintings by the fictional 19th-century artist Tonnerre from the 19th century, which a collector is keeping in his luxurious mansion and examining (in dialogue with an off-screen narrator) for their interrelationships. They feature opulent views from mythology, historical genre pieces, or family scenes retold in a convoluted and dramatic "roman à clef." Similar elements of colportage also drive the narration of the short film Colloque de chiens, made directly in succession, which is told visually over long stretches as a cinematic photo novel. Tension arises from the friction between standstill and extreme movement. This programme is also about cinema itself. (S.H.)