Rosalie
Walerian Borowczyk
1966 | 15 min | B/W | Digital
French with English subtitles

Of all his films, Borowczyk’s favorite was Rosalie. Based on a short story by Guy de Maupassant, Borowczyk relates the plight of a servant girl who killed and buried her child in the garden. Featuring a profoundly touching performance by Ligia Branice, once again Borowczyk uses animated objects to relate action indirectly. An overexposed, chiaroscuro image gives the proceedings an ethereal quality halfway between one of Beckett’s monologues and David Lynch’s Eraserhead.

Blanche
Walerian Borowczyk
1971 | 92 min | Colour | Digital
French with English subtitles

Borowczyk’s wife Ligia Branice gives a heartrending performances as Blanche, the young, beautiful wife to an aging, senile baron (legendary Swiss actor Michel Simon). When an amorous king pays a visit, not only does he fall under Blanche’s spell, but so does his page, the infamous philanderer Monsieur Bartolomeo. Filmed by Borowczyk to resemble a Medieval fresco, Blanche also features stunning ancient musical arrangements drawn from the Carmina Burana song book.

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Part of our season on Walerian Borowczyk