Out 1

They say that doing the Grouse Grind six times is the equivalent to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. And that's roughly what it feels like to conquer One 1. In fact if you watch all twelve hours 23 minutes of Jacques Rivette's film at VIFF this weekend, you'll be joining an elite far more exclusive than, say, the hundreds who have climbed Everest just this year. Although it dates back to 1971 (not 73, as the VIFF brochure says), Out 1 has only ever been projected five times, and the North American premiere was at our own Vancity Theatre this past weekend. I was among some 25 souls who showed up. Amazingly, only a handful dropped out.

It's not just the length which makes Out 1 a challenge. Rivette was a founder member of the French new wave, and for some the most brilliant of the lot, but his work is also esoteric and opaque. The story here involves two experimental theatre companies rehearsing productions of Aeschelus, while Jean Pierre Léaud is a deaf-mute who comes across a coded message referring to a secret society, 'the 13'. His efforts to expose the conspiracy are cut against long, long scenes of acting exercises and rehearsals. (Acting students would be the ideal audience for this movie.)

It is, quite obviously, a long haul. If you're planning to go, be aware that (a) the subtitles are patchy (b) the first episode is the toughest, a kind of initiation exercise to weed out the faint of heart and (c) things really pick up about 9 hours in.

Is it a great film? A 'staggering achievement', as critic Jonathan Rosenbaum claims? Well, as to that I feel we 'companions of duty' who stayed the course should perhaps keep mum in honour of the mysteries herein, but I certainly don't regret giving up half a day to experience such a monumental work, and if you do likewise you will get the chance to query Mr Rosenbaum himself after the screening. Who knows, perhaps VIFF programmer Mark Peranson will also repeat his generous offer and take all the survivors off for a post-screening drink?