Affirmative Aesthetics and Wilful Women by Maud Ceuterick

Author:Maud Ceuterick
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030370398
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

In Laure and Jean’s first embrace in the street en route to the motel, the haptic images of their intimate connections blur the individuality of their bodies and therefore their gendered identification. When Laure and Jean kiss for the first time, they appear in chiaroscuro: they are blurred and appear ‘strangely and terribly flat’ in the way they are lit (in Deleuze’s words regarding chiaroscuros). This lighting constructs what Deleuze would call an any-space-whatever (1986, 111), which ‘universalises’ the story, extending it to a specific sociocultural collectivity. It also emphasises the banality of the moment and creates a ‘sphere of the possible’ (Deleuze 1986, 111), an oneiric atmosphere created by quiet, tinkling piano notes. This atmosphere allows for different conceptions of space outside of the patriarchal status quo. The camera remains filming in extreme close-up during the whole scene, with a warm light illuminating the characters’ faces and leaving everything around them in utter darkness, thereby reinforcing its ‘magical’ appearance. Meanwhile, the direct sounds of the scene convey the characters’ embodiment of space, in this case, the street. The rustling of their clothes is foregrounded, while traffic can be heard in the background. Hearing the rustling sounds of clothes and the faint sounds of their kisses synesthetically brings us to feel the textures of their skin and their warm wool jackets. As the sounds of the traffic become a constant hum, the viewer becomes increasingly immersed in the lovers’ embrace.

The extreme close-ups of the intimate scene in the street convey the reversibility of their touch; they are simultaneously kissing and being kissed (see Fig. 3.8). The hands that continually invade the frame meta-cinematically emphasise the ‘tactile gaze of the camera’ (Beugnet 2004, 192), and the haptic images the camera creates, such as the long take in extreme close-up that shows one of Laure’s gloves on the ground. The glove recalls Laure’s lamp; it too is a recollection-object able to crystallise her sense-memories, having appeared earlier in the film. The texture of the glove conveys the warmth of the embrace and situates the habitation of space as embodied.

Fig. 3.8Vendredi soir: Laure’s and Jean’s faces become almost indistinguishable as they kiss

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