Céline and Julie Go Boating (French: Céline et Julie vont en bateau: Phantom Ladies Over Paris) is a 1974 French film directed by Jacques Rivette. The film stars Dominique Labourier as Julie and Juliet Berto as Céline.
It won the Special Prize of the Jury at the Locarno International Film Festival in 1974 and was an Official Selection at the 1974 New York Film Festival.
I decided to watch it after seeing that Molly Ringwald picked it up in the Criterion Collection closet. It’s 193 minutes, and I’ll admit I didn’t watch it through during a single sitting. So, as I’ve watched it one time as of this writing, I’ll keep my comments until after the 3rd viewing. I am glad I watched it, however. It was a nice break from noir, and I have enjoyed it. Thumbs up.
Speaking of noir, we watched The Wrong Man, by Alfred Hitchcock. I’ve read it’s the only film he made based on a true story. The ending was a little odd, in its abrupt conclusion.
And, sadly, RIP David Lynch. I just heard. We have Eraserhead queued up.
On of the most disturbing things I’ve ever scene in a movie was at the end of Wild at Heart. Haunting.
A close second has to be the monster in the second Robocop film:
UPDATE
We just watched The Lost Highway, which was the first time for both of us. I think Blue Velvet might be on the books for this weekend.
I really like Lost Highway. The surreal logic clicked better for me in this one, than say, Mulholland Drive. I LOVED Robert Blake’s mystery man.
I rewatched Lynch’s Dune in 2021 before going to see Denis Villeneuve’s version. I saw the first on in the theater as a kid (my friends and I were particularly excited because Sting was in it). My adult self had no memory of the original, which is a little odd because I loved all science fiction/fantasy films.
After rewatching the original Dune, I concluded that it might just be the worst movie I’ve ever seen. I think Lynch was the wrong director for that film. I will watch it again, and see if it lands differently. But, interestingly, I love that he made a film that didn’t really work (for me), and many more that did. He pursued his own vision, and got these films made, and in front of people, and that is huge.
And I love David Lynch’s advice to artists – make your work, don’t worry about what other people are doing, keep going, and don’t take no for an answer about your art. I’ve enjoyed seeing my Instagram blow up with Lynch tributes.