Although the wait for Leos Carax‘s next feature tends to be a long, tough one — especially when the overall promise of director, stars, and concept meeting can be terribly strong — his existing filmography is so rich, in terms of both what’s evident and what’s suggested, that it could always do us some good to look back before thinking ahead. Take, for instance, his 1991 feature The Lovers on the Bridge: I’d argue it’s one of the greatest films of the ’90s, yet the lack of proper U.S. distribution ensures that many — even, say, among those who love Holy Motors — haven’t actually seen the thing.
I’m glad, then, that it gets some due praise in a new video essay by Adrian Martin and Cristina Álvarez López, who use numerous compositions and formal strategies to highlight Lovers‘ numerous elements (some harsh and some gentle) and how they come to create the soaring romance between Denis Lavant and Juliette Binoche. This combination has intoxicated viewers for 25 years, and the Martin-Álvarez López approach — formalist dissection meeting a pure stream of images — serves Carax’s vision well. I only hope this encourages more to find The Lovers on the Bridge for themselves.
The video is not embeddable, so you’ll want to head to MUBI for it and the duo’s written supplement.