Repeated Absences

1972. France. Written and directed by Guy Gilles. With Danièle Delorme, Patrick Penn, Nathalie Delon. Punctuated by a haunting title song written and sung by French icon Jeanne Moreau, Gilles’s personal and episodic feature is more poetry than prose. With a malaise colored by heroin addiction and communicated through diary excerpts, narration, and direct address to the camera, François (Penn) checks in and out of life, only vaguely registering his Parisian surroundings. Courtesy Gaumont and Les films de la Gueville. 79 min.