Two celestial beings battle for a magical diamond in the underbelly of Paris in Rivette’s peculiar anti-fantasy, one that is drenched in a noir-ish atmosphere of shadowy interiors.

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When you think of two celestial beings battling for a magical diamond, you might expect an epic of Hollywood proportions.  But in this anti-fantasy grounded heavily in gritty realism, we see the great Jacques Rivette pulling, though not for the first time, the proverbial if peculiar rabbit out of his hat. 

Duelle took some time for me to get onto its wavelength; it’s also the kind of film that one might grow into on a second viewing. 

The aforementioned gem that promises whoever finds it first the chance to stay on Earth becomes the subject of intense rivalry between the Sun Queen and Moon Queen, both disguised as humans in order to manipulate the men and women around them into finding and handing them the prized possession. 

A brother and sister pair become caught in this game of one-upmanship and must find a way to overcome these conniving ‘supernatural’ beings. 

“Cursed or blessed, its value is incalculable.”

Set mostly in pubs, bars, hotel rooms, and even an underground aquarium, Duelle uses these shadowy interiors to create a noir-ish atmosphere. 

Occasionally, a man on a piano in the corner would play indiscernible, dissonant tunes, seemingly oblivious to what is transpiring before him, or for that matter, before the camera. 

Such is Rivette’s guile as a filmmaker that we are at once immersed into this strange but believable underbelly of Paris, yet also aware of the formal qualities of his craft. 

Using and then tearing apart conventions and expectations of genre, the inscrutable and mysterious Duelle may still prove a tad difficult even for cinephiles with some experience with Rivette, or more generally, the French New Wave. 

It’s not exactly a very enjoyable piece, but with each passing film, I’m beginning to find myself becoming more attracted to Rivette as a filmmaker. 

Grade: B+

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