July 30th: THREE CROWNS OF THE SAILOR (Raúl Ruiz, 1983)

A murderer on the run is promised safe passage on a ship in exchange for hearing a sailor's bizarre life story.

Raoul Ruiz was a Chilean filmmaker who fled his homeland after the coup d'état of General Pinochet in 1973, and while primarily based in France since then, he also worked in Portugal and Spain in a career that exceeded over 100 films. Ruiz was one of the foremost names in cinematic surrealism, in a line that can be traced down from pioneers Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, through masters Orson Welles and Federico Fellini, and to contemporary filmmakers like David Lynch.

Three Crowns of the Sailor, made during what many consider his peak surrealistic period, is a compendium of maritime myths and literary influences including The Flying Dutchman, The Rime Of the Ancient Mariner, and stories by Isak Denisen, Hans Christian Andersen, Joseph Conrad, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Ruiz also drew on more obscure Chilean folklore to pepper throughout his story.

While the cast is made up of relatively unknown international actors, Ruiz is joined behind the camera by music composer and longtime collaborator Jorge Arriagada, and renowned cinematographer Sacha Vierny (Hiroshima, Mon Amour, Lsat Year At Marienbad, Belle du Jour). The production was shot in Portugal but being a French production the dialogue was in the latter country's language.

Mainly concerned with exploring the nature of storytelling, the film is heavily loaded with symbolism through signs, patterns, contradictions, and paradoxes. These are highlighted by the wide-angle, deep focus photography, reminiscent of Orson Welles at his most baroque and grotesque.

The film was shown at both the New York and Cannes film festivals, winning a smaller award at the latter. Like most of Ruiz's work it was not widely seen at the time of release, and was rediscovered by cinephiles in later years, the director having a renaissance in the mid-90s with films starring many of France's biggest names.

Running time is approx. 2 hours.