Oddball Movies: La Vallée

Never heard of this movie? You probably aren’t alone. The only know of its existence for two reasons: 1) it has a soundtrack by Pink Floyd, released as an album under the name of Obscured by Clouds, and 2) because it is one of the few films starring Michael Gothard. Gothard (the name is French, but sounds funny if pronounced the straight-ahead, English way) is one of the great cult actors of all time. He has a very unique “pseudo-hippie” appearance, placing him in art films that demand not only the look, but the acting talent as well. Before getting to the today’s film in question, a brief summary of his career. His major credits (essentially, the films of his that I have seen,) include Ken Russell’s insanely powerful The Devils, the 1973/1974 combo of The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, as well as his most recognizable role in 1981’s Bond entry, For Your Eyes Only. In fact, he is one of the few actors/actresses for whom I will see a film, a distinction that I usually save for directors. Point is, he is good.

La Vallee (The Valley,) is a primarily a French language film that serves as an excellent social/filmic history of the early 70s. Directed by Barbet Schroeder, this film takes the pop-arty sensibility of Antonioni’s Blow-Up, mixes it with music akin to a previous film by the director (Pink Floyd also did the soundtrack for More) all while keeping the image above and beyond all else. When viewed from in light of the mainstream films of today, it comes up entirely short. However, it is adventuresome filmmaking through and through, certainly a memorable achievement.

There is little in the way of plot, but here goes nothing. Viviane (Bulle Ogier) is a diplomat’s wife, on a boredom-inspired holiday in New Guinea. Thanks to the mystically free Olivier (Michael Gothard), she is introduced to some amazingly beautiful, yet impossible-to-find bird feathers. Lured by his feathers and his weirdness, she soon comes across his friends and agrees to set out with them on a journey into New Guinea’s Valley of the Gods. These free-wheelers think that if they find this land (here-to-fore unexplored by civilized man and referred to on maps as “obscured by clouds,”) they will have entered a heaven on earth and can live a utopian-like life of free love and free expression. The challenge, they will soon find, lies in physically and idealistically surviving the dangerous journey.

Since the soundtrack was supplied by Pink Floyd, we assume it to be good. The music proves amazing in conjunction with the filmed images, although the editing is sometimes too jarring. Either this is meant to enforce the episodic nature of much of the plot, or is merely the result of substandard equipment. Intention or not, it makes the movie seem very “arty.” This film is rife with cultural citations, choosing to reference mind-expansive drugs in a way not unlike Tom Wolfe’s Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and espouses the bohemian sensibility much in the verite style of Easy Rider. To further enforce the notion that this film yearns for high art status, one need only look to the sometimes totally lack of causality. Taking a cue from Michelangelo Antonioni,(especially L’avventura, Blow-Up, and Zabriskie Point,) Schrodoer often cuts off conversations at odd points, leaves issues unresolved, and even allows the camera to linger on subjects for what become uncomfortable amounts of time. A great example comes when the group has stopped off in a town that is having a festival. Viviane wants to try and buy some feathers (despite the illegality of it all,) so Olivier tries to set something up. While meeting in a small, open-air hut, we see a fairly lengthy scene take place in which a merchant shows Viviane his wares. A voice can be heard from outside proclaiming, in English, “What’s all this then?,” causing everyone to scramble. The police officer then says “Let me have a word with you outside.” Logic would dictate that the camera then cut to the exterior of the hut and show the police officer talking to Viviane. However, Schroeder does not operate by such rules. The next scene is of the camera tracking through a packed crowd, finally settling on Viviane, who happens to see Olivier, then exclaiming “I was looking for you everywhere.” Apparently, all that occurred in between the police officer and this getting lost was of no importance. God bless the art cinema!

In a way, this film sort of illustrates the death-shriek of the hippie movement. Viviane, Hermine, Olivier et al. become ultra-hippies, seeking not only total freedom in a paradise on earth, but also distancing themselves as far as possible from mainstream society. They seek to fulfil a seemingly too idealistic task (in realist terms, the peace, love and harmony that hippiedom represented,) and nearly die as a result. While it is true that eventually discover this mythic valley, they are nearly dead when the do so. Their spirits are crushed. The quest and the emotional baggage attached to it almost destroyed them. So, assuming that they safely reach the valley, which at the end they have merely seen from afar, there still exists the difficulty of living off of the supposedly perfect land. In the end, the film doesn’t really hate, nor does it endorse, their attempt, but merely gives the impression that sometimes the safer life is the best option. Granted, the journey provided some uncopyable experiences, but is that really worth one’s life?