Blanche

Walerian Borowczyk's 1972 film is a tragedy set in the thirteenth century and shot almost entirely inside one castle. Blanche is the young and beautiful wife of the elderly master; everyone is in love with her, including the visiting king, his servant Bartolomeo, and the household itself. Blanche does nothing; everything that happens grows from the meanings the men attach to her, and the outcome is fatal. Borowczyk is obsessively attached to detail in costume and décor; every object is placed with period accuracy and the camera dwells on it. That material density sets up a contrast with the emotional emptiness of the characters. Ligia Branice was the director's wife and carries the role while barely speaking. The film is considered his most restrained work before he moved into erotic cinema. Who it's for: viewers who like European art cinema, period tragedy and formal rigour. Who it's not for: anyone wanting narrative speed, or troubled by a woman character constructed as entirely passive.