Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
 

La Présence réelle (1984)

Director: Raúl Ruiz

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

A good example of how Ruiz, given a perfectly straightforward commission, will deliver anything but the expected. Ostensibly an essay on the Avignon Festival, it starts off with an actor puzzling over his 'virtual' presence on a videodisc about a Festival that hasn't happened yet, but where he can nevertheless be seen. If this sort of meditation on real and imaginary presence - on the differences between film, theatre, filmed theatre and theatrical cinema - had been developed more cohesively, it would have been a much more gripping film. But then it wouldn't have been Ruiz. As it is, the Gothic horror imagery, run-of-the-mill Magritte allusions, and staggeringly cut-rate special effects - felt pen on glass - are so many prodigal throwaways from a man who's often plagued with too many ideas for his own good.

Author: JRo 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Cast & crew

Director: Raúl Ruiz

Producer: Jean Lefaux, Maya Feuillette

Cast: Franck Oger, Nadège Clair, Camila Mora, Catherine Oudin, Louis Castel, Jean-Loup Rivière full cast

Duration: 60 mins


Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.