Viewing in Adele H.
With Truffaut’s The Story of Adele H. we seem to be encountering something dramatically different than that which we have encountered previously. The fact that this film is a dramatic period piece already exists as a point of differentiation from anything that we have seen this semester. Moreover, we also see Truffaut departing from the backdrop of France and the European continent more generally. Although we get visions of Germany with Truffaut (think of Jules et Jim) and a few different European countries with Godard (Les Carabiniers), almost the entirety of this film transpires within the geographical confines of Halifax. But despite these differences, as important as they may be to a discussion of film history and the French New Wave specifically, I’m more interested in the various themes that continue to play out in Truffaut’s later work.
In the course of ten to fifteen years we see the continual recurrence of certain important thematic concerns. Most specifically, I’m interested in Trufaut’s seemingly obsessive emphasis on spectatorship. Although one might make the argument that every film is at least partially concerned with this issue, I think that there is a little more at stake with regard for Truffaut’s work. Day for Night, for example, is intimately concerned with what the camera captures or sees. In a sense, Truffaut seems to emphasize the multiple levels of attraction that arise with the cinematic apparatus. Although it is evident that one might make similar observations with regard for many of the other texts in his ouvere, I’m particularly intrigued by the parallels that emerge between The 400 Blows and Adele H. Here, of course, two crucial scenes come to mind.
In The 400 Blows I’m particularly interested in the scene where the Antoine Doinel finds his mother with another man on the streets. One day Antoine decides to skip school with his friend. They roam the streets most of the day enjoying the freedom that a day off of school seems to provide them. Interestingly though, Antoine is surprised to find his mom with another man. His mother having seen Antoine, hurredly rushes away with her lover. Both Antoine and his mother work to keep the secret in order that neither of them gets in trouble for their actions. Although this scene is pretty short, it is particularly memorable, especially when considering Truffaut’s work in Adele H. With Truffaut’s later text, one can still see that he is interested in the act of viewing. For Truffaut the act of viewing ultimately induces a strange trauma.
With regard for Adele H, the scene in which she learns of her lover’s (unrequited) infidelity is crucial to this discussion. One night Adele decides to follow Albert (Lt. Pinson) to his mistress’ house. Adele hides in the thick brush that has grown up around the building and watches Albert and his mistress move around the house. As Albert moves through the house, the camera tracks his appearance and dissapearance. Adele watches from outside the building as Albert and his mistress eventually find their way up a flight of stairs and to her bedroom. In a strange parallel to Day for Night, I’m reminded of a scene where Truffaut, playing a director, tells a stagehand not to worry about the inside of a structure that is currently being built. Quite simply, in order to save money and time, Truffaut tells the stagehand that they will just shoot the scene from outside of the building. In a sense, one questions whether or not Truffaut made the same decision with regard for this film, or if something a little more significant is occurring here. Though one could make the argument for both, I’m particularly interested in the second reading.
I think that Truffaut is working, very purposefully, to emphasize the distance of the spectator. Adele is not just outside of the room…she is outside of the building itself, climbing through a shadowy wooden structure. She keeps track of every detail from this distance. In fact, Truffaut further emphasizes this distance by positioning Adele behind a series of what appear to be wooden window frames. But then, what exactly does this spectatorial distance indicate?
In a strange way, I like that Truffaut’s outsider is always the character that is the most aware. In The 400 Blows, Antoine is the outsider that sees everything most lucidly. Whereas his parents seem utterly unaware of how ridiculous their relationship is, Antoine, listening through the door at night, seems to realize its end before anyone else. Antoine knows of his mother’s infidelities because he sees her as the outsider; the child that skips a day of school to go out on the town. And, the same is true for Adele H. Adele is perhaps a more intense version of Antoine’s character. Adele is a foreigner in Halifax, her family is comprised of expatriots, and she is almost always viewing Albert’s romance from the outside. Albert is even surprised by the amount of information that Adele has gathered. And, for her part, Adele doesn’t really seem interested or capable of leaving that position. When she realizes that Albert has an interest in other women, she suggests that even if they married she would allow him to have these trysts. In a strange way, Adele condemns herself to always viewing from the outside.
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