Consul's wife, Viviane took part in an expedition to New Guinea. She falls in love with Gaetan, the leader of a group of explorers, whose objective is to reach a mysterious valley.Consul's wife, Viviane took part in an expedition to New Guinea. She falls in love with Gaetan, the leader of a group of explorers, whose objective is to reach a mysterious valley.Consul's wife, Viviane took part in an expedition to New Guinea. She falls in love with Gaetan, the leader of a group of explorers, whose objective is to reach a mysterious valley.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe soundtrack to this film was released as a Pink Floyd album. Due to a spat with the film company after filming was complete, the Floyd decided not to mention the planned film title, "La Vallee," in the album's title and instead chose to call the release "Obscured By Clouds," echoing a line of dialogue from the film. In response, "Obscured By Clouds" was added as a subtitle so it could gain from Pink Floyd's popularity. This turned out to be a good move as Pink Floyd would soon gain even more fame with the release of "Dark Side of the Moon" just a few months later.
- Quotes
Viviane: Olivier, isn't it wonderful... We've become so close to them. We're practically like them. Look at Gaetan and Hermine... it's great! I'm happy. We've found truth, you know.
[kisses his shoulder, but he looks sad]
Viviane: What's wrong, Olivier?
Olivier: It's just the opposite.
Viviane: What's the opposite?
Olivier: We're lying. Whatever Gaetan says, we're tourists here.
Viviane: What do you mean, "tourists"? I don't get it, what's that supposed to mean?
[angry]
Viviane: It's disgusting, hearing you talk like that, you've spent months here with Gaetan, and that's all... You don't understand. What are you, stupid?
Olivier: Dancing's easy. Could you work with them?
Viviane: Yes, absolutely!
Olivier: Women are even more exploited here.
[Viviane starts to think]
Olivier: You know, Viviane, among the Kombugas society is bound by very strict rules.
Viviane: Same with ours.
Olivier: It's not the same thing... We're trying to break ours. When they dance, it's not just for the pleasure of it, it's to obey something. Look, this is the cemetery, they're dancing on their dead. We seek after pleasure, and maybe peace. They couldn't care less about that.
Viviane: I don't know, Olivier, but look at this festival. Everyone's happy together. Why do we all understand, without words... like real friends? Why the understanding, why is it so simple here, eh?
Olivier: It's O.K. But that doesn't mean much.
Viviane: You really disappoint me. You're just like my husband.
Olivier: Sure, we all like each other, but it doesn't go any farther. How can you expect real rapports between us, who tear down our social restrictions, and them, who live in terror and... and respect for taboos?
Viviane: I don't know, but it's possible. We're finding something else, that's all. Don't you believe in mysterious forces?
Olivier: Oh, sure, very much. But not in their way. For us, that's impossible. One can't forget one's past, Viviane. It's not possible to undo your conditioning. Once it's lost, innocence can't be found again. Paradise is a place with many exits, but no entrance... There's no way back from knowledge... When you fall from grace, that's it. I wonder, to find it again, whether we shouldn't do just the opposite of what we've done... If we shouldn't take another bite out of the apple.
[Viviane walks away]
- ConnectionsEdited into Hell of the Living Dead (1980)
Outer and inner realities begin to merge, eventually reflecting and enhancing each other in mystical parallelism. She becomes possessed by a sense of seamless unity between her self and her environment. Feeling herself flow into the world around her is a joyful reward that richly compensates for forfeiting every accoutrement of civilization. Anyone expecting to see them giggling merrily over tropical drinks in a valley of palm trees and friendly monkeys is in for a rude shock. This is an honest film. Our little self-styled cult of postmodern zealots knows the price of following the inner path and they have prepared themselves to pay it fully. We do see their valley though we may not readily recognize it as paradise. The Valley obscured by clouds is the ultimate parallel symbol in this film of symbols: it is the undiscovered depths of ones being, and an enabling realm of detachment totally cut off from self-alienating civilizations. La Vallee marks a path by which one aspires to universal harmony through unfettered spiritual freedom.
Schroeder uses varying combinations of sound and picture as an expressive tool. As the story progresses, he steadily diminishes emphasis on words while increasing the importance of images. Conversations in rather bland settings dominate the first part of the film (excepting some rapt moments under the seductive spell of magic feathers). Gradually, visual elements gain prominence. The final scene is in the style of silent film, with only sparse dialog inserted like a few lines of printed text in a Chaplin movie. Our experience of this shift from word-biased content to image-biased content is also Viviane's experience as she gradually reaches into parts of herself that are beyond words. This structural analogy lets us join her inner transformation through our eyes and ears, thus making the abstract seem real. It also unifies style and substance in a way that contributes handsomely to the film's focus and intensity. Every aspect of this film was created solely by movie professionals. La Vallee is an impressive example of the unique potential of their craft.
Those who would turn to this film mostly to hear Pink Floyd's music should buy the CD instead. Three years later Pink Floyd released Wish You Were Here which has a similar theme. If you like Wish You Were Here, you will probably also like La Vallee.
- StanfordCollins
- Aug 16, 2020
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Details
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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