VA SAVOIR (2001)

Though it might not be the film’s main function, Jacques Rivette’s Va savoir / Who Knows? wonderfully conveys the importance of art in life. As new romances are formed, old ones are rekindled, and doubts are sown in current relationships, the characters in this ensemble piece find their lives connected by these overlapping trysts and a production of Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello’s As You Desire Me / Come tu mi vuoi. With this play being performed in France for a limited time, it is a reminder of the finite nature of opportunities, but its importance extends well beyond that.

As each of the characters (bar the ones who work as actors within this production) witness the play, it doesn’t just evoke different emotions within them, it appears to latch onto and amplify whatever they were feeling before this moment. Some of the characters even attend it twice, attempting to make some sense of what this work has stirred up within them. But it can never be truly rationalised. By having it elude them, Rivette points to the transformative power of art, demonstrating that although it is something that can be felt in abundance, it remains a mystery in the realm of facts, figures, and definitive statements of knowledge.

Following the intertwined love affairs of a group of people in Paris, all of them are at a loss to explain what they want out of life, themselves, or other people, yet their helpless soul-searching is always imbued with intense feeling. In his review of Rohmer’s A Tale of Springtime (1990), Roger Ebert reflected that its characters are so authentic that it feels as if they could step out of the bounds of their surrounding narrative at any moment. In Va savoir, they often do exactly this, yet their individuality is never sacrificed in the process. What’s even more remarkable is that the film’s plotting never becomes elasticated, with this story still adhering to believability and coherence. It’s as if these characters can’t recognise the radical steps they’ve just undertaken, which tracks given their inability to reckon with their own emotions. They each utilise their agency constantly, though they all wind up learning that the ability to make choices often proves a source of confusion and angst.

But freedom is also great fun, as each member of this roster will realise when they’re given the chance to step outside the bounds of their committed relationship or the monotony of daily life. Their new trysts are built upon impermanence, since this plot is kick-started by the temporary production of this play in Paris, where actors Camille B. (Jeanne Balibar) and Ugo (Sergio Castellitto) find their relationship tested, both by outside forces and their own temptations. These characters don’t shy away from excitement, whether that’s in Camille’s old flame Pierre (Jacques Bonnaffé), Pierre’s lover Sonia (Marianne Basler), Dominique ‘Do’ (Hélène de Fougerolles), a student who helps Ugo search for a long-lost play, or her half-brother Arthur (Bruno Todeschini). They’re each a little lost in life and are hope that love can light the way in their passage to lasting contentment.

This shouldn’t reasonably amount to a 154-minute runtime, but every scene of Va savoir is an essential part of this experience. In case there are any doubts of wasted moments, Rivette doesn’t just let these wonderful scenes breathe, extending so leisurely that it feels like these characters are undergoing authentic external and internal crises before our eyes, the film’s fast-paced editing has a whiplash effect when employed. If a conversation between two or more characters meanders, it will do so meaningfully, exploring a tense interaction or a conflict of emotions. But instead of also letting such scenes gently float towards their denouement, the film’s quick cuts between sequences are punchy and vibrant, keeping you on your toes before lulling you back in with its woozy, sultry romances and trials of the heart.

The play within this film will either confirm these characters’ fears or boost their resolve, yet the result seems arbitrary when the opposite reaction could be provoked from another performance of As You Desire Me a day later. The same is true of these characters, who might conform to the general rules and pleasantries of society, but remain truly unpredictable. There are countless scenes where one could imagine a punch-up, a heated argument, a bitter reconciliation, or a passionate embrace erupting into existence. And yet Va savoir never uses its unpredictable nature to invoke incredulity from viewers.

This world of academics and grown-up theatre kids doesn’t sound that enriching on its surface, but Rivette makes literature and shared passion in the arts appear sultry, with dusty bookshelves hemming in potential lovebirds Ugo and Do. The hushed tones from the pair and the quietly electric ambience of a library setting make them seem like tentative lovers in each of their conversations. Meanwhile, Camille and Pierre are wistful over the lives they could have led together, with the former’s brief sojourn in Paris unearthing buried emotions. With all of these crisscrossing romances emerging, one anticipates tense showdowns and many secrets coming to the fore. But even when this occurs, Rivette resists the temptation of screaming matches, refusing to allow hostility to dim the fun that can be had throughout this film.

If anything, Va savoir is a little too fun, with a light-hearted ending that isn’t just delicate and sweet, but which features love that’s as all-consuming as the bouts of desire that these characters find in new lovers. What worked as both a farce and a meaningful exploration of what it means to love ends with a showy denouement that doesn’t fully earn its big swings or unabashedly optimistic final scene. The intimacy of the scenes set on a stage, which contain pitch-perfect sound design and an even more quietly electric ambience than the library setting where Ugo and Do form a connection, gives way to something big-hearted that doesn’t match up with the leisurely paced screwball comedy that preceded it.

Perhaps such a denouement could only ever work in a film with a lengthier runtime, so the director’s cut of Va savoir may well use this ending as a rewarding antidote for the malaise that’s cast over these characters throughout the film’s duration. Whatever the case, though this movie does require some patience as the film settles into this narrative, Rivette’s meditation on love is a tantalising mystery that is as enjoyable as it is unpredictable.

FRANCE • ITALY • GERMANY | 2001 | 154 MINUTES • 220 MINUTES (DIRECTOR’S CUT) | 1.85:1 | COLOUR | FRENCH • ITALIAN

Limited Edition Blu-ray Special Features:

• New 4K restorations of ‘Va savoir’ (the 154-minute theatrical cut) and ‘Va Savoir+’ (the 223-minute director’s original cut), presented on two discs. Only the theatrical cut was supplied for this review, which looks gorgeous, but fans of Rivette will be delighted to know that the film’s original cut is now available. After being screened in France upon Va savoir‘s release, the 223-minute version is widely available for the first time, a welcome development given that, according to critic Jonathan Romney, this was the director’s preferred version of the film.
• Original stereo DTS-HD Master Audio.
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista.
• Limited edition booklet with archival writing by Rivette expert Mary M. Wiles, Chris Chang, Kent Jones and an archival interview with Rivette.
• Select-scene audio commentary by screenwriters Pascal Bonitzer and Christine Laurent (44:49). Poring over their notes, Rivette’s co-screenwriters on Va savoir discuss the film at length, with some of their reflections failing to overlap as memories and perspectives are corrected in real time. Flitting back and forth between scenes and storylines, this 45-minute commentary explores the complicated stir of emotions within its characters throughout much of the film’s most significant moments. A film as seemingly improvisational and lifelike as this one is made all the more impressive due to Bonitzer and Laurent’s reflections, with the screenwriting duo emphasising the inner turmoil and shifting dynamics within Va savoir’s interconnected trysts.
• Archival 2001 interview with director Jacques Rivette (19:20). Although Rivette offers interesting reflections on the themes and motifs of Va Savoir throughout this interview, it is the film itself that renders its director’s insights compelling. The boundaries (and occasional lack thereof) between art and reality are fascinating in this film, along with the elusive nature of love, so any form of discussion by its co-creator is worth checking out.
• Archival interview with star Jeanne Balibar (08:13). Balibar’s interview offers candid insights into the filming process and her trepidation towards it, as well as the ways in which Rivette showcases physicality in this film. 
• 2024 interview with critic Jonathan Romney (25:35). The English film critic goes into extensive detail regarding Rivette’s career, the inspiration behind Va Savoir, and the film’s production. The sheer amount of information conveyed in this interview is exhaustive; anyone who isn’t intimately aware of Rivette’s career trajectory will have learned dozens of facts about this director and his methods.

Cast & Crew

director: Jacques Rivette.
writers: Pascal Bonitzer, Christine Laurent & Jacques Rivette (based on the play ‘As You Desire Me / Come tu mi vuoi‘ by Luigi Pirandello).
starring: Jeanne Balibar, Sergio Castellitto, Jacques Bonnaffé, Marianne Basler, Hélène de Fougerolles, Bruno Todeschini & Catherine Rouvel.