«Without any doubt, the most constant privilege of the masters is that of seeing everything, including the most simple mistakes, turn out to their advantage rather than diminishing their stature. If you are now surprised to see me give the benefit of this law to Nicholas Ray’s latest film it means you are ill-prepared to appreciate a work which is disconcerting and asks for, not indulgence, but a little love.» (Jacques Rivette, Cahiers No.27)
1. Went to the Cinema
2. (I never forget myself )
3. Watched and forgot myself
4. Dreamed with new eyes (someone invented the color red again)
5. Can’t go home again
6. I live by night(fall)
7. Walked through a city that seemed like a cinema
8. Images are still exploding in my eyes
9. If fading youth feels like that – I want it to fade forever
10. Went back to the Cinema
(I know there have been many love letters to Mr. Ray before and I am asking myself why. Many of his films seem to invite even the most critical viewers to forget their intellectual or basic pain. I think that you can find out if someone loves cinema with Nicholas Ray. If one is excited with a film like Party Girl, one is in love because one can’t tell why. There is really no reason. He is not the type you were looking for. If one has doubt about one’s love to cinema, one can find a new light there, a new pleasure because some of those films are like an island that tells us: It is not that complicated. But maybe he is just a lover for a few nights. Truffaut has called him the poet of nightfall and he was right about it. The only place where the night always falls is cinema. Maybe in a world outside of cinema, maybe even in your own world Nicholas Ray is of no significant importance…but as soon as you enter any cinema, as soon as you try to look with the eyes of cinema, Nicholas Ray is a defining poet. Don’t forget (maybe the reason for all those love letters) even if there is no cinema near you.)