Henri Georges-Clouzot 'L'Enfer'

Marta and I just came back from watching Inferno (L'Enfer) at ICA. It was not at all what I expected. Firstly, I thought I would be watching an entire film, but it was more like a third of a documentary, a third of a reconstruction and a third of the actual film. L'Enfer was never completed. In 2005, 185 film cans were found and these were used to piece togther the 'final product' that we see today. Serge Reggiani, who plays Marcel, a man obsessed to the point of madness with his beautiful wife Odette (played by Romy Schneider), actually walked off the film set three weeks into filming due to a nervous breakdown; and Clouzot ended up in hospital from a heart-attack. It was an ill-fated production but as a recent review in The Guardian says, "This assemblage of lost footage is perhaps more fascinating than the actual completed film would have been." It is definitely a film I will remember for a long time.

L'Enfer is showing at the ICA and BFI Southbank for a limited time so I suggest you book your tickets before they sell out!







M xo