Les ruissellements du diable

‘Les Ruissellements du Diable’ is loosely based on the story ‘Blow Up’ by Julio Cortázar (the title of Cytter’s work is the French translation of the original Spanish title of ‘Blow Up’). A love story unfolds from a photograph. Time (the month of November) and place (a hotel room) are given, the rest can be filled in by the viewer with the bits of information and the scenes that are added. The two protagonists, a man and a woman,encircle each other and the sexual tension rises. The Asian music reminds of a movie by Wong Kar-Wai. The man and the woman complete each other’s actions, without necessarily finding themselves in the same room: he places a cigarette in an ashtray and she smokes it; she is standing next to a tree and he walks on; he unhooks the receiver and she talks on the phone. These complementary actions are spread throughout the film and are sometimes interrupted by film noir clichés like smoke, a play with light and shadow, or staring glances.