Charlie Urvois

In 1969, the painter-sculptor Daniel Pommereulle made his third film, this one financed by Sylvina Boissonnas. Although only a short, Vite was one of the most costly of all the Zanzibar productions. It features, for instance, shots of the moon taken by a state-of-the-art telescope, the Questar, that Pommereulle first saw while visiting Marlon Brando in southern California in 1968. In Rohmer’s La Collectionneuse, Pommereulle and his friend Adrien philosophize on how best to achieve le vide (emptiness) during their summer holidays. Three years later, Pommereulle would transform the word “vide” to “vite” (quickly), signifying his profound disenchantment with the aftermath of the revolution of May ’68. —Harvard Film Archive

Maddening and mysterious,with the elements—ocean, wind, rocky terrain—dominating the scenes.

Disguising himself as a geisha and introducing himself as Madame Mufiko, a certain Max Fox opens a school in Paris where he proposes to teach the Japanese art of love. He recruits a few students, boys and girls, to whom he teaches to imitate the positions represented on old prints. The young people set themselves to it with such ardor that soon the girls are pregnant. In addition, the school is put under police surveillance and the false Mufiko sees her true identity revealed.