Mammame (1986) by Raúl Ruiz
Sunday, December 13, 1987, 7:30 pm
The Radical Cinema of Raúl Ruiz: Two Views
No filmmaker has more relentlessly undertaken to unravel and explore the narrative cinema during the past decade than Chilean expatriate Raúl Ruiz. In little more than twenty years Ruiz has made over 40 films and feature-length videotapes (mostly in France), all wildly diverse in technique, always utilizing a minimum of resources for maximum effect, and drawing upon an explosive cinematic imagination and instinct reminiscent of the young Godard. While Ruiz’ work has been greatly admired and written about in Europe and in major cities of the United States, his oeuvre is still inaccessible to most viewers. Tonight we present two films that highlight different aspects of this major cinematic voice. Mammame (1986) is a short feature in which a cast of nine dancers metaphorically represent complex sexual and emotional encounters against stark and alternating backdrops. The Three Crowns of the Sailor (1983) is an atmospheric, intricately shot and edited adventure in elliptical story-telling. Combining seafaring tales of the supernatural, Three Crowns… serves up a complex meditation on what it means to be a stranger and the suspense of not knowing where one is going.