La lunga ombra

An American director looks as if he is out to outdo the European art film tradition. The film is as psychological as a Bergman. As beautifully photographed as an Antonioni. The improvised acting, by masterful actresses, vies with a Rivette. Not that Jost can be accused of imitation: he unmistakably creates his own mood and is master of his own images. Jost alleges that the film was made for fifty euros. Bluff or not, the artistic freedom can be clearly seen in every frame. The initiative for the film was taken by the actress Eliana Miglio and the film was shot in a very short time, improvising without a script. A group of people are together in a beautiful country house for no apparent reason. There is confusion and melancholy. The conversations roam every which way. And the silences are golden. According to the film maker, the film is about the effect that 11 September 2001 had on the frame of mind of the European middle classes. Forgotten thoughts and opinions about immigration, the relationship to the Third World and even colonisation have returned to the foreground. Political stability is shifting. But this process is indirect and evasive, and the film circles around these issues. A psychological drama as a political pamphlet. Or vice versa. (GjZ)