Synopsis
La Marge is a French-language film produced in 1976 directed by Walerian Borowczyk and based on the novel of the same name by André Pieyre de Mandiargues. The film features Joe Dallesandro in the lead role and Sylvia Kristel, who was a prominent figure in European cinema of the 1970s, especially known for her topless roles.
La Marge, or The Margin in English, is literal and figurative. It is a reference not just to a geographical location, but to a psychological state– the impression of being outside of life and the people that surround you. The main character Sigismond or “Sigismond” as he is often referred to, takes a journey into a strange emotional landscape following a tragedy in his life.
Sigismond is a contemplative person who, on the surface, seems to enjoy a stable life in the countryside with his wife, and child. However, his work in Paris is expected to provide him an opportunity for advancement. While he is in the city, he receives tragic news from home that upsets the remainder of his stay and snaps the thread of emotional equilibrium he had so carefully preserved. Trapped in his loss, Sigismond starts to wander, emotionally detached, abandoning the city and the ordered life he had known.
During this emotional journey, he encounters Diana, a gentle and mysterious woman who exists on the outskirts of society. Her calm and contemplative disposition offers Sigismond fleeting moments of relief. For him, Diana embodies compassion and reflection, a mysterious and emotional companion, and a foil to the pain he carries, but not a solution.
They offer each other emotional and thoughtful tenderness, and the film demonstrates how individuals seek solace and connection during anguish. It is not a grand romance or dramatic escape, simply a brief respite, a peaceful moment of emotional solitude, a minute in time spun outside the monotonous drum rhythms of life.
La Marge focuses on building an emotional environment rather than moving the narrative forward. The film speaks to an existential mood of profound loss and solitude. Sigismond’s contemplative and deliberate journey urges the audience to witness the profound loss and dislocation that animates and reorders a soul and leads to a potent and transformative inward change.
Main Characters
Sigismond (Joe Dallesandro)
As portrayed by American actor Joe Dallesandro, Sigismond is a man of few words. Dallesandro’s sensitivity to the role allowed him to communicate the character’s complex emotional state without lengthy discourses. For the duration of the film, Sigismond is trying to come to terms not with a particular answer to a question, but with the meaning—understanding, even—of the something larger than the tragedy.
Diana (Sylvia Kristel)
Diana is a counterbalance to Sigismond. Despite her own life being softly characterized, and withdrawn slightly from the socio-cultural center, she extends a helping hand to Sigismond. Welsh-actor Kristel is able to give fundamental portrayal to a character who, in the few words she has to speak, is able to communicate a great deal with her being and understanding.
Themes and Symbolism
Despite its minimalist plot, La Marge is vibrant with themes that, in large part, are expressed through pictorial and atmospheric means.
Grief and Isolation: La Marge deals with the internal consequences of sudden loss. La Marge poignantly illustrates the consequences of loss and grief and does so comparatively without dramatization. Sigismond’s alienation is uniquely curious, as he is physically surrounded by a metropolis, and yet, a profound emotional turmoil drapes him in shadows of isolation.
Emotional Displacement: A significant portion of the film’s impact relates to the depiction of emotional dislocation. Sigismond passes through Paris, not as an escape, but because he has no sense of direction. The film captures how personal pain can displace an individual, making the familiar world distant and unrecognizable.
Connection and Compassion: The connection Sigismond and Diana share is neither dramatic nor passionate, but rather, it is defined by stillness, empathy, and the simple human need to be kind to one another. Their relationship is presented as a temporary respite of shared time, a brief communion against the backdrop of an inner storm.
Urban Alienation: Unlike the common view of Paris as a beautiful, exciting city, in this film, it is cold and unwelcoming. The urban landscape serves to accentuate the emotional distance Sigismond feels. The deserted apartments, the teeming streets, and the faceless crowds record the inner void of Sigismond.
The Margin of Life: The film, true to its title, places its characters in the margins–geographically, socially, and, most importantly, emotionally. Sigismond is still alive, but he has emotionally withdrawn from life. The margins serve as a space of contemplation and stillness, a pause before the decision to recede to the center or drift into it.
Cinematography and Direction
As a director, Walerian Borowczyk takes a unique creative approach with a focus on artistry. Borowczyk takes a “painterly” approach to La Marge. There are numerous elongated, quiet shots throughout the film, which focus on the urban environment, as well as the faces and hands of the characters. These mundane elements become emotionally meaningful.
The cinematography is very simple, yet graceful, done with natural light and soft colors to harmonize with the characters’ expression. There is a stark contrast to the wide shots of the city, almost distant, compared to the intimate, soft, interior scenes. It suggests a dichotomy to the character’s external and internal world.
Borowczyk’s scenes are intentionally slow and unhurried; there is a sense of stillness to absorb the atmosphere and emotions, which allows the film to establish a sense of mood.
Tone and Pacing
In La Marge, the pacing unfolds in a meditative tone. There is a purposeful, unhurried rhythm for the viewer-builder emotional resonance and contemplation. This is a film purposely slow and the emotional experience is rich, paying off the viewer’s patience.
Bordering on the silence, music is there to accentuate, in a very sparing way, the still moments. It echoes the solitude of the main character, and there is a sense of silence to express the emotional core.Reception and Legacy
Although La Marge was not a commercial success, in time it was appreciated for having a measured, poetic vision. It was commended for its emotional candor and visual elegance as well as its treatment of the human condition in a nuanced, non-sensational way.
Both Joe Dallesandro and Sylvia Kristel were praised for the calm and sincerity of their performances in roles that required considerable emotional acuity and yet were characterized by minimal, and often, absent dialogue.
The film is indeed a fine example of the European cinema of the 1970s, having an interest in the personal, and a deep emotional and artistic exploration and experimentalism, as well as an emotional introspection.
Conclusion
La Marge is not a film of loud emotions or dramatic turns; instead, it provides a quiet and sensitive meditation on grief and human connection and the vulnerable spaces through which we pass when life shifts. It is through the artistic visuals and the restrained storytelling that a world is created for the viewers with the invitation to meditation, with silence, gestures, and fleeting moments.
For the lovers of introspective cinema, La Marge is a moving, quietly beautiful, and even meditative, experience. It is one that stays with the audience long after the film ends.
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