06
Netherlands,
1994, 90 min
Shown in 1995
CREDITS
- dir
-
Theo van Gogh
- prod
-
Theo van Gogh
- scr
-
Johan Doesburg
- cam
-
Tom Erisman
- editor
-
Ot Louw
- cast
-
Ariane Sculter, Ad van Kempen
- premiere
-
International Premiere
OTHER
With the advent of interactive and virtual realities, phone sex may sound like a seriously fuddy-duddy concept. But Theo van Gogh’s 1-900, a series of telephone conversations between a man and a woman, has an in-your-face directness that should make anyone think twice about dismissing the power of the spoken word. Based on a controversial play that was performed with members of the audience hooked up to video monitors for a more participatory feel, the film relies heavily on verbal (fore)play to stimulate the audience’s interest. Eleven episodes, or phone calls—each one separated from the others by a week—structure the film. A man and a woman (he’s in his architect’s office, she’s at home in her living room) connect through a 900 number and take it from there. There’s a lot of stimulation and masturbation, but the light, charming performances and smart, sexy dialogue keep the boring heavy breathing part to a minimum. There’s a serious part to it all though—as the phone relationship develops, we get to see the ways that men and women lie to each other. A relationship that started out with only sex on its mind ends up being emotionally involved and disturbingly complex. 1-900 is frank and funny; and although there are only two rooms to look at, there’s a fair number of things to think about.
FACTOID #176
Hordes of screaming teenagers were fascinated with the Rolling Stones, but so were influential imagemakers Jean-Luc Godard and Robert Frank. The SFIFF has screened three different films with the Rolling Stones as the main subject: Godard’s Sympathy for the Devil (SFIFF 1972), Frank’s Cocksucker Blues (SFIFF 1998) and the IMAX documentary At the Max (SFIFF 1991).
