Barre Philips and John Surman - MERRY-GO-ROUND (fr, Rivette 1981)

One of the most fascinating Rivette films, even aside from the amazing soundtrack, and probably the only one that can be called a failure (though it remains an endearing one).

Story goes, frère Jacques had a breakdown a couple of days into part three of his filles de feu tetralogy. When he returned, and tried another Out 1-esque McGuffin-driven mystery, the magic was gone. Little Joe reports that Rivette seemed like he never wanted to stop filming - I guess he couldn't find what he was looking for; it certainly seems like the actors didn't (and one can see Joe more than once, and more than usual, clearly looking as though he has no idea what is going on). Oddly, the excuse for a plot is very similar to Monte Hellman's Road to Nowhere (2010). I wonder if Monte assumed no-one had seen this.

It's nonetheless a very enjoyable film, due in no small part to the soundtrack by Barre Phillips (bass) and John Sman (bass clarinet). For no clear reason at all, the movie repeatedly cuts to them improvising in a small studio, and the music they make is marvelous. Enjoy!

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