Une sale histoire

UNE SALE HISTOIREis the story of a man who discovers a hole in the door of the ladies’ toilet at a café he frequents. Initially out of curiosity and later out of a compulsive fascination, he begins to spend his free time in front of the hole. The film consists of two versions of the same story. For the documentary version, Eustache filmed his friend Jean-Noël Picq recounting the story in the first person singular to four female friends invited to attend. In the second version, actor Michael Lonsdale plays the first-person narrator. The film has three main themes: firstly, a discourse on (male) desire and gender relations; secondly, a reflection on the relationship between documentary and fiction; and thirdly, an exemplary illustration of the power of the word in film. The story unfolds solely through language and is not illustrated by images. Apart from the narrator and the listeners, the audience sees nothing – no café, no toilet and no genitals. (hjf)