Santo Sospir (Short 1952)

Santo Sospir: Directed by Jean Cocteau. With Jean Cocteau, Edouard Dermithe, Francine Weisweiller. Short about Mrs. Weisweiller’s Villa in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferat, on Côte d’Azur, which was decorated by Jean Cocteau.

“This is a very unusual short film by Jean Cocteau for many reasons. First, itu0026#39;s in color–and Iu0026#39;m pretty sure itu0026#39;s his only color film. Second, much of it simply consists of his showing the viewer through a villa which he decorated–making this, mostly, a documentary. I say mostly because at times the film seems to bounce about and Cocteau canu0026#39;t seem to resist throwing in his own touches that have nothing to do with the house–such as his use of reversing the film to make things run in backwards order (and, like in u0026quot;Testament of Orpheusu0026quot;, he makes flowers appear to go from being torn apart to becoming whole again).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film is a room by room viewing of the villa–a place that Cocteau decorated in the early 1950s. According to Wikipedia, Pablo Picasso also decorated a small portion of the house–though who did what isnu0026#39;t discussed in the film. You can see that Cocteauu0026#39;s art is heavily influenced by his friends Picasso, Chagall and Matisse (and vice-versa). Much of it consists of Cocteauu0026#39;s simple drawings (mostly black u0026amp; white)–which remind me a bit of James Thurber mixed with Picasso. However, later in the film, you suddenly see VERY bold and colorful modern works by Cocteau–and a few by his friends (including his lover Jean Marais and the villau0026#39;s owner). Itu0026#39;s all VERY exciting to watch and itu0026#39;s something youu0026#39;ll just need to see for yourself. I am not a huge fan of modern art but found the home irresistible and would sure love to be able to visit the place. I couldnu0026#39;t find any information on this, so I guess Iu0026#39;ll have to content myself with seeing this excellent film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAside from u0026quot;Orpheusu0026quot; and u0026quot;Beauty and the Beastu0026quot;, this is probably one of Cocteauu0026#39;s most accessible films. Itu0026#39;s all very straight-forward and lacks the bizarre structure of some of his work (such as u0026quot;Blood of a Poetu0026quot;).”