More Review

• 16th Sep 2011

I will hold my hands up now and admit that my knowledge of Barbet Schroeder is sketchy at best. Shame on me for being the obsessive film fan that I proclaim to be. So when I sat down to watch More his 1969 hippie culture film (with its superb soundtrack by Pink Floyd) I was taken aback by how beautiful each scene looks. Previous viewing experiences from Schroder have always been interesting and its a shame I have only now, decided to look through his earlier work.

Those unfamiliar with Schroeder’s past features will do well to trawl through them, leading to some undiscovered gems of world cinema. For starters there is the fantastically harsh and supremely underrated Maitresse from 1976, starring Gerard Depardieu as a thief who enters into a relationship with a french dominatrix. Notable for a moment which depicted someone having their penis nailed to a plank of wood. Turns out the BBFC were not too fond of that particular moment. While Schroeder’s most notable work (to those unfamiliar with world cinema) is that of the Bridget Fonda starring Single White Female. Another film also expertly shot, this time by Suspiria and Tenebere director of photography Luciano Tovoli.

More is Schroeder’s first feature and while it has moments of being overly psychedelic at times for the more modern audiences (making it a genuine product of its time), it is as previously mentioned a sombre and beautifully shot first film. American beauty Mimsy Farmer (known among cult film fans for her Euro horror work in the 70s and 80s) stars as Estelle an american who gets involved with a german student named Stefan. He follows her to Ibiza, only to find out that she is in trouble with a man only known as Dr Wolf. It quickly becomes clear Estelle has stolen a large quantity of heroin from Dr Wolf and decides to turn Stefan onto the addictive drug. What follows shows the two on a downward spiral into heroin addiction and drug abuse.

It is an interesting look at the subculture of free love and drugs from the 60s, all of which is enhanced by the haunting and magical music from Pink Floyd. It’s a shame Mimsy Farmer never became more well known in her respective field as this is clearly one of her best roles , long before she became the screaming heroine of Italian Gialli. More is a hard film to really critique as it is more of an experience then a film. Each scene is hypnotic and surly a product of its time.

Included on both the Blu-ray and DVD is a 17 minute making of documentary that has been newly commissioned. While it is informative, it really could have been a little longer hopefully highlighting more of the soundtrack by Pink Floyd. Also included are theatrical trailers for More, Maitresse and The Valley

The main draw for fans of Schroeder will be the exhaustive booklet that is included as part of this new release. As always the BFI has produced an interesting and informative read which makes up for the lack of special features, for such a curious film. Inside there is essays by Emilie Bickerton, a biography on Mimsy Farmer by Maitland McDonagh (which is extensively detailed), extracts of an interview with Mimsy Farmer and finally a brief article on the soundtrack for More by Time Out journalist Bella Todd.

All in all not extensive extras wise, but certainly educated and informative.

It is clear that BFI have put a lot of thought into the various writings. Those that enjoy the more theoretical details of film, will find a lot within this release.

For fans of either Schroeder or Pink Floyd, More is certainly worth a watch. Its representation on the hippie culture is far from glamorized or satirized, making for some difficult view at times. But viewing that is neither less than in engaging and beautifully shot. As a first feature for Schroeder back in 1969, this is a flawed but interesting work.

Dominic O’Brien