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Film Archive

Puzzle of a Downfall Child

Tribute to Jerry Schatzberg 2013 / Puzzle of a Downfall Child / USA 1970

After attempting suicide, model Lou Andreas Sand finds her life in pieces. At an isolated house among the sand dunes, Lou launches into a confession that may or may not be the truth: as she relives her past she gradually loses control over reality.… In his first film, Jerry Schatzberg proves himself a masterful and sophisticated teller of a fragmented story that transformed Faye Dunaway into a truly shining star.

Puzzle of a Downfall Child Puzzle of a Downfall Child

Synopsis

At the start of his directing career, Schatzberg submitted a story of a former model named Lou Andreas Sand whose life and mental state are on the rocks. Lou takes refuge in an isolated house among the sand dunes, and there she launches into a confession that may or may not be the truth. The reason may very well be that her auditor is Aaron Reinhardt, a man who plans on turning her life story into a movie. Lou relives her past but her perception of reality is corrupt: she gradually loses control of the facts in a narcissistic attempt to conceal aspects of her personality.... Schatzberg in part drew inspiration for his debut from the life of model Anne St. Marie, whom he worked with as a photographer, even consulting with her about the film. The result revealed that the then 43-year-old tyro was a masterful storyteller. His feature drama constructs a fragmented tale out of memories and illusions that impact the heroine’s experience of the present, and the director complements arresting visuals with a complex soundtrack. French New Wave approaches and the influence of Nicolas Roeg made their mark on the self-assured narrative – as did Schatzberg’s fascination with Faye Dunaway who was just 29 at the time of shooting. After the gangster film Bonnie and Clyde (1967) the actress was just at the threshold of a star-studded career but in Schatzberg’s film she portrayed a much older character: the story finds Lou at age 40. Dunaway received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

About the film

105 min / Color, DCP

Director Jerry Schatzberg / Screenplay Adrian Joyce / Dir. of Photography Adam Holender / Music Michael Small / Editor Evan Lottman / Producer John Foreman / Production Universal Pictures / Cast Faye Dunaway, Roy Scheider, Barry Primus, Viveca Lindfors, Barry Morse / Contact Peter Langs, Carlotta Films

Contacts

Peter Langs
100 Universal City Plaza, CA 91608, Universal City
United States of America
E-mail: [email protected]

Carlotta Films
9 Passage de la Boule Blanche, 75012, Paris
France
Phone: +33 1 422 410 86
Fax: +33 1 422 416 78
E-mail: [email protected]

Guests

Jerry Schatzberg
Film Director

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