Le Sang d’un poète (1930) - film review

A poet creates a drawing of a living mouth, which transfers to his hand when he tries to wipe it from the canvas.  Later, when he touches a statue with his afflicted hand, the statue comes to life.  As a punishment, the poet is condemned to walk the corridor of the Hotel of Dramatic Follies, where he spies on various tableaux directed by the statue.

This is Jean Cocteau’s first full-length film and his most abstract, showing a strong influence from Dali and Bunuel.  His intention was to explore the inner self of a poet, to portray the torment of a soul torn between the search for artistic fulfilment and the pressures and artifices of an external reality.

Despite the primitiveness of the film making, this remains a deeply enigmatic and original piece of cinema, as well as enabling Cocteau to perfect his art for the incredible films he was to make after the war.  Cocteau’s approach is intentionally experimental - he is trying to create through the medium of film the kind of effect he could achieve through poetry.  Just as written poetry is a distillation of abstract concepts encapsulated in a few phrases, this film attempts to evoke an emotional response through the use of strong visual imagery built around a central theme: the pain of a poet.  The inanimate statue in Cocteau’s film becomes a living, moving entity – ultimately a beautiful woman.  In a similar way, his written poetry is brought to life through some ingenious photography.

It would be easy to condemn this film because of its radical departure from the norm - the attempt to represent reality as accurately as possible through the traditional narrative or documentary form.  Cocteau offers a viable alternative which few film directors have had the courage or inclination to pursue – the possibility that film can be used to represent and explore the abstract and the sub-conscious in the form of a living poem, without selling out totally to the surreal.

To appreciate this film fully, it is necessary first to suspend all preconceived notions as to what should constitute a film.  Forget everything.  Then watch it again, and again, and again...  And be amazed.

© James Travers 2001

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