Surreal Estate
Surreal Estate (French: Sérail) is a 1976 French mystery film directed by Argentine filmmaker Eduardo de Gregorio, who is best known for his screenwriting work with Jacques Rivette.
| Surreal Estate | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Eduardo de Gregorio[1] |
| Written by | Michael Graham Eduardo de Gregorio |
| Starring | Bulle Ogier Leslie Caron Corin Redgrave Marie-France Pisier |
| Cinematography | Ricardo Aronovich |
| Edited by | Alberto Yaccelini |
Release date |
|
Running time | 83 min |
| Country | France |
| Languages | English French |
Plot
Surreal Estate tells the story of Eric Sange (Corin Redgrave), an English novelist who, seeking to buy a house in France as an investment, discovers a run-down mansion inhabited by three strange women: Ariane (Rivette regular Bulle Ogier), Agathe (Marie-France Pisier), and their ostensible housekeeper, Céleste (Leslie Caron). Together, these women draw Eric into a gothic mystery that his own novelistic experience tells him is hackneyed, but which he nonetheless finds irresistible.[1]
Cast
- Bulle Ogier as Ariane
- Marie-France Pisier as Agathe
- Corin Redgrave as Eric Sange
- Leslie Caron as Céleste
- Marylin Jones as the waitress
- Pierre Baudry as the bar owner
Reception
Imran Khan of PopMatters says of the film: "Very much a film of its time, it helped to corner a market in French cinema that had seen a tiny flourish of fantasy-themed dramas first initiated by Jacques Rivette’s Céline and Julie Go Boating (1974), a film that dispensed with logic and chronology for a shattered perspective on cinematic narrative."[1]
References
- Khan, Imran "Surreal Estate: Exploring the Haunted Grounds of Sérail", PopMatters, 20 January 2015. Retrieved on 20 November 2016.