L’Ennui (Les Reves d’un Somnambule)

“‘L’ennui (Les Reves d’un Somnambule)’ is a film in three segments. The very beginning consists of a three-minute dedication to Universal Leader. Lots of fun… The first section depicts a beautiful old woman floating through states of insomnia and timelessness. The pace is very slow, serene and dreamlike. The second section deals with the frenzy/insanity of the city. By using entire scenes in negative and layering street scenes one on top of the other, Raphael achieves a surreal and frightening eeriness to this section. The last part is not only an ode to human beauty, but it’s also quite humorous in parts. This entire section is shot in a totally white room with only a chair starring two nude people – a black woman and a bearded white man. Raphael used step-printing to emphasize their dance movements and progressively shortened the duration of the cuts until finally there’s only one frame of each person forming a complete merging of the two bodies – both black and white, male and female, bearded and breasted. It’s a very sensuous sequence. The music for ‘L’ennui’ was done by an ex-student of John Cage and works stupendously with the imagery. All in all it’s a film well worth seeing.” – A. Ibranyi-Kiss, Cinema Canada