‘Scenes from a farewell’ would be a suitable subtitle for this remarkable first feature film by Marion Hänsel, after the book by Dominique Rolin. She shifted the location from Paris to Antwerp, the city she was living in at the time and which we see in Il était un petit navire. Eva is keeping her dying spouse company on a houseboat on the Schelde river. His ex is also present for these last 24 hours in the no-man’s land between life that goes on and unavoidable death.
Hänsel depicts the tense situation from Eva’s perspective in a sober, yet aptly composed form, supported by calm, stylish camerawork. Full of intense emotions vying for primacy: the power of love alongside pain, desires, guilt and impending loneliness. A poetic meditation consisting of relatively independent scenes interlarded with memories of past happiness. Awarded the Belgian film critics’ prize.
Film details
- Countries of production
- Belgium, Switzerland
- Year
- 1982
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2020
- Length
- 80'
- Medium/Format
- 35mm
