A great beer from Sri Lanka! A joyful mix of fruity malt, a touch of chocolate sweetness, smokiness and even wood aroma. A complex beer. The aspect is the same of Guiness dark and creamy.
Quite easy to find in Western Supermarkets the Brewery is part of the group Carlsberg.
Una grande birra dello Sri Lanka! Un esaltante mix di malto fruttato con un tocco di dolcezza del cioccolato con sentori di cioccolato e legno. Un sapore complesso. L'aspetto visuale è quello della xlassica Guiness scura e cremosa. Abbastanza facile da trovare nei supermercati occidentali la birreria infatti fa parte del gruppo Carlsberg.
Alain Robbe-Grillet, The Art of Fiction No. 91 from Paris Review
Interviewed by Shusha Guppy
INTERVIEWER
Readers began to come with the success of Last Year at Marienbad, didn’t they? Did Alain Resnais ask you to write the script for his film, or did you intend to enter the film world anyway?
ROBBE-GRILLET
It was Resnais’s producer. After Jealousy I wrote The Labyrinth, which sold a few more copies. Resnais’s producer asked me to write a script for him. Resnais himself wanted to make a film with Françoise Sagan, so he was not interested, but the producer said perhaps I could persuade him. I immediately wrote three synopses, two pages each, and handed them over to Resnais. He liked them and said, “go ahead.” It didn’t cost him anything since the producer had agreed to pay me without any commitment on Resnais’s part. I produced not a scenario but a finished script: shot by shot, frame by frame, with all the camera movements, and ready to shoot. It is rare that a director would accept such a script, but Resnais did, and the film was done in two months.
INTERVIEWER
Was Marienbad your first attempt at scriptwriting?
ROBBE-GRILLET
No. The Immortal One was my first script. In 1960, a producer asked me if I wanted to make a film of my own. I said, “Yes, but I don’t have a large readership as a writer.” He said, “Never mind—you are fashionable.” The only condition was that the film be shot in Istanbul. “Why?” I asked. It was a dark story—as it always is in the film industry—about some Belgian money locked up in Turkey to be used on an exportable product. It so happened that I had met Catherine in Istanbul; therefore the city was part of my own imaginary world. I accepted immediately and left for Turkey where I wrote the script. Then came the revolution against Menderes and the country was plunged into bloodshed. As a result the film didn’t happen. When Resnais was shooting Marienbad I went back to Istanbul to negotiate with the new Turkish government. I made The Immortal myself a year later. The joke is that no one wanted to buy Marienbad! The producer decided that the film would never be shown, that it insulted and mocked the public, that it meant nothing. I was in a particularly awkward position, since I was “the bad Alain Robbe-Grillet” who had corrupted “the good Alain Resnais.” So for a year the film lay fallow. By chance, the Venice Film Festival saved it, and the absurd, idiotic film became a roaring success overnight.
INTERVIEWER
But it was for your own film, The Immortal One, that you won the Leduc Prize.
ROBBE-GRILLET
Despite the prize the film had no success at all. But the following film, Trans-Europe Express, did very well, and I could go on making other films, such as The Man Who Lies, and Play With Fire. I am planning another film—I can’t talk about it for superstitious reasons—but I have no trouble finding the money since I can make films very cheaply, with tiny resources.
INTERVIEWER
What do you think of the French New Wave directors? Those who came from Les Cahiers du Cinema and made films at the same time as you did? Did they influence you?
ROBBE-GRILLET
There is one director I admire enormously, and that is Jean-Luc Godard. Apart from his latest film, Hail Mary, all his output is important to me. But the really successful directors, like Truffaut and Chabrol, I consider completely insignificant. They make good traditional films, based on novels that worked very well before they were filmed, but they can’t be compared with the formal inventiveness of Godard. Truffaut is famous as an avant-grade director, while he is the rear, rear guard! As for Eric Rohmer, he is the fellow who writes dialogues and then gets actors to speak them in front of the camera. Often the most successful film of a director is the least interesting: Truffaut’s The Last Metro was a piece of commercial rubbish in all its horror, yet it was a big hit.
INTERVIEWER
What about other great names of the cinema: Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, and so on . . . Who influenced you as a director?
ROBBE-GRILLET
Fritz Lang, Erich von Stroheim, Orson Welles—The Lady of Shanghai more than Citizen Kane. Bergman doesn’t interest me at all.
"J’aime la vie je n’aime pas la mort,
Amo la vita non amo la morte
I love life I don’t love death
Pourtant j’aime assez ce qui demeure immobile
Quindi amo quello che resta immobile
That’s why I lovewhat is stationary
J’aime les chats je n’aime pas les chiens
Mi piacciono i gatti non amo i cani
I love cats I don’t like dogs
J’aime l’impression d’éternité, les vieilles demeures de Provence au décor immuable
Mi piace l’idea di eternità, le vecchie dimore della Provenza dall’aspetto immutabile
I love the idea of eternity, the old steady Provence Adobes
Les lourds velours rouges passés depuis toujours
I pesanti velluti rossi sorpassati da sempre
The heavy red old fashioned velvets
La mousse dans les allées
La vegetazione di sottobosco nei sentieri
The moss on the paths
Les carpes entre deux eaux dans les bassins
Le carpe a mezz’acqua negli stagni
The mid water carps in the ponds
Je n’aime pas le téléphone
Non amo il telefono
I don’t like phones
Je n’aime pas la voiture
Non mi piacciono le macchine
I don’t like cars.
J’aime les longs voyages en chemin de fer
Amo i lunghi viaggi in treno
I love long distance train travels
Paris-Bucarest New York -Los Angeles Istanbul- Téhéran Moscow-Khabarovsk
J’aime aussi marcher dans les rues ou à travers la campagne.
Mi piace molto camminare per le strade o attraverso la campagna
I love to walk in the streets or through the countryside
J’aime les Automnes humides et doux les feuilles brunes luisantes de pluie
Mi piacciono gli autunni umidi e dolci, le foglie brune luccicanti di pioggia
I love humid and sweet autumns, the brown leafs shining under the rain
Un épais tapis spongieux sur le chemin
Uno spesso tappeto spugnoso sul cammino
A thick spongy carpet under my feet
Je n’aime pas le bruit, Je n’aime pas l’agitation, J’aime les belles voix, Je déteste les cris
Non mi piace il rumore,non mi piace l’agitazione , amo le belle voci detesto i gridi
I don’t like noise, I don’t like agitation, I like nice voices I hate shouts
J’aime le foules joyeuses, Je n’aime pas ce qui plait aux foules
Mi piacciono le folle gioiose , non mi piace quello che piace alle folle
I love joyful crowd, I don’t like what crowds normally love
Je ne fais pas confiance au masses populaires
Non credo alle masse popolari
I don’t trust popular masses
J’aime les jours ou je me sent plus intelligent plus instruit plus aigu
Mi piacciono i giorni in cui mi sento piu intelligente piu istruito piu acuto
I love the days I feel more intelligent more educated more acute
J’aime apprendre, j’aime enseigner
Mi piace imparare e amo insegnare
I like to learn and I like to teach
Je n’aime pas faire une conférence après un bon repas
Non mi piace fare una conferenza dopo un buon pasto
I don’t like to give a lecture after a good meal
J’aime bien les petites filles surtout si elles sont jolies
Mi piacciono le ragazzine sopratutto se carine
I like little girls especially when they’re nice
Je n’aime pas trop les petits garçons
Non mi piacciono troppo i ragazzini
I don’t like little boys
J’aime le jolie je n’aime pas la mode du laid
Amo il bello non mi piace la moda del laido
I love the beauty I don’t like filthy fashion
J’aime dire ce que je pense surtout si cela ne ce dit pas
Amo dire quello che penso sopratutto se non viene detto
I like to say what I think especially when it’s unsaid
J’aime connaitre la règle je n’aime pas la respecter
Mi piace conoscere la regola ma non amo rispettarla
I like to know the rule but I don’t like to respect it
J’aime connaitre les théories littéraires ou scientifiques
Mi piace conoscere le teorie letterarie o scientifiche
We would like to know something about your musical training?
Pratically I only studied classical piano for about three years at the music academy. For the rest I'm a self-taught man.
What about "Fluence", which was your first record?
I made it in 1975, and it was an electronic record. At present I only like one side of it , which was influenced by La Monte young. This side features a continous sound and the guitar playing by Richard Pinhas.
How did you meet Richard?
Well I just sent him a tape I made for the record and then I met him at his home in Paris.He simply played over my tape and we have recorded the finished piece.
How was the distribution of the record?
Pôle distributed it , but this small label collapsed soon after the record came out and I lost the traces of my record.
After "Fluence" came "Sequences Païennes"
Yes I still like this little object. It contains six small tracks you can listen to at different speeds indifferently.On it I play toy piano, plastic saxophone and a little bit of synth. But the use of synth is very plain avoiding any kind of special effect. At the time I just wanted to put my simple repetitive music on a small record .I was really amazed by the result : short pieces you can listen to at different speeds.
And what about "Paralelo"?
It's a Synth album. I think I made it too rapidly, I didn't meditate on it for enough time. The only track on the record I still like is the one with the voice of Gavin Bryars and the synth imitating the wind instruments.I find the rest of the record very boring and cold.
What about your collaboration with David Cunningham?
As usual I sent him some tapes and he played over them. I had 62 minutes of music coming from this collaboration a I utilized part of it for "Ready made" and part for "Sentimentos"
Do you normally listen to your pieces very often before being satisfied of them ?
No, I think it's a matter of fate.
Are you normally satisfied with your work?
Well, I only like some pieces in every record I made.
Which is the part of your work you like more at the moment?
I think the things featured on "Camouflage" and most of the acoustic pieces featured on "Ready made" and "Sentimentos".
So ,are you going to repudiate the synth?
No,not at all,I'm not critizising this instrument. I also like some things I did with the synth.
How did it work with Aeon for the production of "Sentimentos"?
Well I sent them the tape and the cover's outline and they made the record, it's all!
So you prefer to make your music and leave to others production and distribution?
Yes,I think so.
Is there a musical scene in Montpellier, the town where you normally live?
I have some friends I'm collaborating with. One of them plays toy piano and flute on"Camouflage".
Do you normally prefer to work alone?
Yes, I do.
What about "Fall of Saigon"?
We formed the group for a concert last year.We prepared some pieces following a specific path. A type of minimal rock with a little bit of melody. The maxi we made is on that line.But at the moment we are doing something near to the "chanson" and I don't like it. I think we will split because I'm tired doing this type of music. I will concentrate on acoustic music. I would like to form a quartett doing repetitive music.
Something near to ZNR?
No , I think more in the line of Michael Nyman but in a smaller version.
Do you like the music of new classical English musicians like Bryars and Nyman ?
Sure, I do.
Do you have any contacts with them?
I only have postal contacts with Gavin. It all started because on the cover of Sequences Païennes, I made a dedication to Sherlok Holmes and he is an important member of British "Sherlok Holmes " Society.
Which music you like to listen to at the moment?
I like very much folk music , Flamenco, Arabian Music, Andalusian Music, Classical Arabian Music, old Neapolitan songs and Salsa.
Who is the musician you would like to collaborate with in today's French music scene ?
I think Jacques Berrocal , we already spoke about it and I hope we will do something together. In reality I don't know many musicians.
Would you also like to collaborate with Gavin Bryars?
I think I'm less musician than he is.My music is more amateur music, a little bit like bricolage. On the other side he normally plays written music.
