The Woman Who Powders Herself (1972) La femme qui se poudre

Director: Patrick Bokanowski
Stars: Jean-Jacques Choul, Jacques Delbosc d'Auzon, Claus-Dieter Reents

An evocation of concealment and unmasking, where the mundane act of a Victorian-era woman’s ritualistic application of cosmetic powder seemingly opens the window – or perhaps, Pandora’s Box – into underlying human anxieties of physical beauty, youth, desirability, and objectification.

This is a remarkable little film - a true hidden gem of the avant-garde - haunting, grotesque and beautiful.

The shallow depth of field, the animation, the lens distortion and other optical effects, all make for a wonderfully original cinematic experience.

The bizarre masks and the absurd ritualistic behavior are like a re-enactment of some lost primordial ceremony.

The eerie soundtrack is equally brilliant and captures the mood perfectly.

Filmmakers like Lynch (and subsequently Maddin and Merhige and so forth) have definitely taken a page out of Bokanowski's book.

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