Eclipse Series 9: The Delirious Fictions of William Klein

nik.mercer — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:08:41 -0700

The Criterion Collection is a film company that needs no introduction, and the same goes for Eclipse, its series of DVD box-sets that highlight the "lost, forgotten, or overshadowed classics." Every month, The Criterion Collection drops a new Eclipse Series edition, May's being The Delirious Fictions of William Klein.

Born in 1928, William Klein became renowned for his New York street photography, the fact that he was a former G.I. living as an expatriate in Paris, and, of course, making wonderful films for well over forty years. As a director, Klein was hailed for his by-the-book stylistic prowess and application of photographic techniques to cinema—not a single frame looks accidental or rushed through—and playfulness. The Delirious Fictions of William Klein contains three standout movies: 1966's Who Are You, Polly Maggoo, 1969's Mr. Freedom, and 1977's The Model Couple, each articulating Klein's unique aesthetic and his creative peaks.

Who Are You, Polly Maggoo is an absolutely hilarious B&W French language film that revolves around the story of Polly Maggoo, a supermodel who is obsessed by Prince Igor after being launched to success by a holier-than-thou fashion designer named Grégoire Pecque. Klein himself was the fashion photographer for Vogue for almost a decade, and in many ways Polly Maggoo is a subversive and satirical response to his time there. The film drips with tongue-in-cheek blows to the fashion industry: the narrative begins with Pecque debuting a line of solid metal dresses, claiming them to be the clothing for the modern woman. The runway is some sort of cave in France and features an array of fashionistas, haute couture-donning blue hairs, and magazine editors, all of whom are enamored by the outlandish line. From there, the film further deflates the cultural pretensions and institutions that surround us in an accessible and inspiring manner. As with all of Klein's movies, Polly Maggoo is unexpectidly relevant to the 21st century and certainly worth the watch, whether you're in it for seeing the quirky eye candy that is embedded in Klein's cellulose or watching him deftly turn the fashion world on its head.

By 1969's Mr. Freedom, Klein had clearly strengthened his narrative techniques and writing, making the political anti-war film all the more compelling. Mr. Freedom isn't your run-of-the-mill pro-peace movie, though: the ninety-minute piece follows the adventures of a fictional quasi-superhero named Mr. Freedom who unabashedly spouts out nationalistic sentiments, stresses the importance of honor, strength, and dignity, and the weakness of the Vietnamese. Throughout the saccharine odyssey, Mr. Freedom is followed by a loose group of personal cheerleaders, reports to a brainwashing leader (Dr. Freedom), battles outrageously goofy and off-kilter villains (i.e. Captain Formidable—pronounce it with a heavy French accent), yet never fully realizes the idiocy of his fascist quest to suppress the "Red Chinamen" and promote American capitalism... and never once considers hos dumb he looks in his football uniform-inspired costume. Mr. Freedom resonates particularly well in today's political climate and functions as a sort of Gulliver's Travels for the modern age. Serge Gainsbourrg's appearance is a refreshing blast of straightforward humor in this rather spicy and dense satire.

After Mr. Freedom, Klein went on to create his most famous film, Muhammad Ali, the Greatest, a documentary of the boxer, and only returned to his fictions in 1977 with The Model Couple. The movie feels and moves in a more matured and steady manner, conveying its messages with a greater degree of seriousness than ever before. Thematically, too, The Model Couple highlights something a little less overt and laughable: the French government's increasing invasion of its citizens privacy (again, a message that resonates particularly well in 2008). The Ministry of the Future (okay, so there's Klein messing around again) decides to seek out two "normal," white, middle-class citizens, and monitor them for a national experiment. The rigors we see the two subjects endure are hilarious exaggerations of relatable situations we all find ourselves in more and more today... from procuring excessively thorough personal files and asking outrageously intrusive questions to taking nude photos of the couples in order to remark how worthy of "the model couple" moniker they are. The couple are monitored in the most extreme way possible, too: every part of their body is hooked up to a computer (use your imagination), every purchase at the supermarket is noted and assessed, and every action explicated. Eventually, Jean-Michel and Claudine go a little crazy and begin to give in to the Ministry of the Future's notion of what the City of the Future is. The one-hundred-minute masterpiece sublimely disintegrates as the monitored and televised couple become more and more confused and alone. Finally, they're captured by a group of local opposers, eliminating the possibility of Jean-Michel and Claudine's demise we can't help but think is coming. The Model Couple is a funny yet ultimately depressing work that seems too close to our own reality and flows too naturally for comfort, at least here at the Anthem HQ, but is undeniably one of Klein's most gorgeous and thoughtful efforts. Imagine a filmic likeness to the comic, V for Vendetta.

Be sure to pick up The Delirious Fictions of William Klein. You'll find yourself enraptured by every minute of the three movies, wanting to rewind at every scene change and uproot the details you suppose you've missed. The complexity, depth, and density of each feature is rare and special... and the fact that it all resonates so well in today's society, culture, and political system makes the opportunity to see each all the more important.