While many cinephilic pleasures can be derived from diving into underseen gems from many decades ago, it’s extremely rare to find a film shot before many of our lifetimes and only resurrected for completion recently. Such is the case for Moi-même, which was shot during the political and social revolution of Paris 1968 by Lee Breuer, along with future members of the legendary downtown experimental theater company Mabou Mines.
An unscripted, silent satire following a 13-year-old boy attempting to make a film against the backdrop of the events of May ’68, it was abandoned as unfinished. Over five decades later, the footage was resurrected by Breuer’s son Mojo Lorwin, who decided to edit the film, adding dialogue, sound, and music to complete the work during the final year of his father’s life. The final film is both in the spirit of his father and his ‘60s circle, and a tribute to them, earning comparisons to both Robert Downey Sr. and Jacques Rivette. Now set to have its New York premiere this month at L’Alliance on February 27, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the new trailer.
The film features a cameo by Jean-Luc Godard, footage of the student protesters outside the Sorbonne, and early performances from several of the original members of Mabou Mines including Ruth Maleczech, David Warrilow, and Fred Neumann, also known for their interpretations of Samuel Beckett’s work. Faced with hours of unedited silent film as Breuer’s original intention had been to dub the film later, Lorwin spent three years writing a script, editing the picture, and working with a number of voice actors, musicians, and sound professionals to create a feature film out of the raw footage.
“A collaboration between father and son across half a century, Moi-même is both a lost 60s arthouse film and a new experimental film in its own right, which uses the original footage to tell a story about the political and artistic legacy of the 60s in our time and to explore the meaning of abandoned projects,” notes the synopsis.
See the exclusive trailer below and get tickets for the NY premiere on February 27 here, featuring a Q&A.