Cinematheque | Othon
Film by Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet (1969)
1969 | France | 1h28 | VF | 35 mm
With Adriano Aprà, Anne Brumagne, Ennio Lauricella
Based on the play Othon by Pierre Corneille
At the top of Palatine Hill, actors in Roman costumes give a representation of Cornelius' play.
The Straubs seize a play by Corneille, the adaptation of which is envisaged here as a fight against any form of artifice: no theater stage, nor professionals, but amateur actors, filmed on Palatine Hill while the rustle of Roman traffic below covers the Alexandrians. The ear is stretched, the eye is attached to the smallest detail (magnificent photograph by Renato Berta), with the feeling of discovering the verb in a form never before seen.