简介：Thefilmiscomposedoffivesequences,eachprecededbyaquotation.1:“Ghostwhitelikeanotyetwrittenpage”(Mallarmé,“Mimique”):AmimeofKleist’sPenthesilea,filmedinlongshotfromafixedcameraposition.2:“Theshadowssprinkledinblackcharacters”(Mallarmé,“Quantaulivre”):AlectureonKleist’splay,themythofPenthesileaandthetheoreticalbasisofthefilm,deliveredbyPeterWollenwhilemovingaboutaterraceandadjoininglivingroom,thecameratracinganindependenttrajectorywithinthesameconfinedspaceandoccasionallyapproachingtheindexcardsofnotesleftbehindbyWollenatvariousstagesinhisroute.3:“Blazonsofphobia,sealsofself-punishment”(Lacan,afterVico):AsuccessionofimagesrelatingtoPenthesileaandtheAmazons—paintings,sculptures,artifacts,tapestries,etc.,includingframesfromaWonderWomancomicbook—separatedbyanimatedwipesandmaskings,andaccompaniedonthesoundtrackbyBerio’s“Visage”.4:“Netoflightonoverlight”(H.D.,“Projector”):Asilentfilm,What80MillionWomenWant(1913),onwhichawoman’sfaceincolorissuperimposed,speakingthewordsoffeministJesseAshley.5:“Notesonthemagicwritingpad”(Freud):Fourblack-and-whitetelevisionscreenssimultaneouslypresentTheprecedingsectionsofthefilm;thecameraoccasionallyisolatesanindividualscreen,andsimilarlythesoundtrackoccasionallyhighIightsoneoftheprecedingsoundtracks;graduallythematerialonthescreensisreplacedbynewfootageofthemimeactressportrayingPenthesileareturningtoherdressingroom,takingoffhermake-up,andaddressingthecamera. Fascinatingoverallforitsinvestigationintoalternativedidacticmethodsandtherelationshipbetweenindependentlyexpressivesurfacesandtexts,Penthesileaisfarfromsimplegoingwhenoneconfrontstheopeningsequence:tooremotefromboththemimeitselfandone’ssubsequentperceptionofthefilm’sgeneraldesign,itsimplydemandsmore(orless)thanonecancomfortablybringtoit.Oncepastthisobstacle—aninterestingandlegitimatesequencethatacquiresinterestonlyafterthefact—oneisswiftlyrewardedbythewordsandcameramovementsofsequence#2,whichbeautifullyjugglesoundandimage,theoryandpractice,Wollen’strajectoryandthecamera’sinsomethingresemblingatwo-partinvention.WittiestofallarethecuecardsstrewninWollen’spath,whichthecamera‘picksup’afterhimlikeadutifulservant:sometimesthewordsonthecardduplicateanearlierpartofthelecture,sometimesthereflectionoflightonthecardsmakesthewordsparadoxicallyillegible,andatonestrangejuncture—properlyspeaking,theonly‘fictional’momentintheentirefilm—thewordsappearjustastheyarebeingspokeninanotherroom.Sequence#3registersasasystematicexplorationintohowonecanarriveatanorderofthings(thesuccessionofWonderWomanframesprovidinganinventoryofwaysoneimagecanfollowanother),whiletheBeriopieceoffsetsthiswithwhatisdescribed.intheAutumn1974Screen(aninterviewwithMulveyandWollenthatusefullysupplementsthefilm)as“the‘birth’ofanewformoflanguage”.#4juxtaposestwo‘texts’intheformofsuperimposedimages,withahistoricalartifactsetagainstacontemporaryrecitationofahistoricaldocument;and#5exploitssomeoftheWavelength-likeparadoxesofrelativeillusionistsurfaces(aswhenthecameramovesintoaTVscreenshowingsequence#2,wherethecameraisalsomoving)whiledrawingallofthepreviousjuxtapositionsandnewmaterialintofreshmixturesandrelationships.Eachsequence,itmustbenoted,consistsoftworeels‘invisibly’joined(inthemannerofRope),andthejustificationsforthisnon-editingarestatedsuccinctlyinWollen’slecture,whichalsoalludesto“Thespacebetweenastorythatisnevertoldandahistorythathasneveryetbeenmade”—thatarrayoflecturematerialaroundanunarticulatedstorythatthefilmoccupies,withspeculativepastmythandspeculativeutopianmythdevelopingconcurrentlyfromtheemptyspaces.Curiouslybutperhapsinevitably,thefilm’sconceptualframeworksomewhatoverridesthefeministthemeitpursues,andthequestionofhowoneperceivesPenthesileabecomessomewhatmoreofasubjectthanthefigureherself.OnerecallsthestructureofGodard’sOnePlusOne,withitssimilarnotionofgrapplingwithdiversephenomenabyplacingthemsidebyside(albeitinaneditedcontext),withtheAnneWiazemskyquestion-and-answersequenceperforminganexpositionalfunctionsomewhatanalogoustoWollen’slecture.ButOnePlusOnearguablyrepresentedtheendofsomething,whilePenthesileasuggestsabeginning—astepforwardintheEuropeanavant-gardethatcross-fertilizesmoreactivecurrents(fromtheAmericanstructuralfilmtoTelQuel)thanthisreviewcouldhopetoenumerate.Anobjectforreflectionandinquirymorethana‘finished’statement,itisatheoreticaldo-it-yourselfkit–-orstateddifferently,anexploratorytool–-ofthefirstimportance.JONATHANROSENBAUM…