Tribute to The Film Foundation 2021 / Queen of Diamonds / USA 1991
Frequently dubbed as the “American Jeanne Dielman”, Menkes’ long-forgotten radical sophomore feature is now widely recognized as an unparalleled masterpiece of the 1990s. Comprised mostly of striking motionless shots enveloped in a plotless, fragmented narrative, Queen of Diamonds was unlike anything produced by American indie cinema at the time.
Frequently dubbed as the “American Jeanne Dielman”, Menkes’ long-forgotten radical sophomore feature is now widely recognized as an unparalleled masterpiece of the 1990s. Here we have an austere, piercing sketch of an estranged blackjack dealer struggling to find meaning in a cold, mechanical Las Vegas. Comprised mostly of striking motionless shots enveloped in a plotless, fragmented narrative, Queen of Diamonds was unlike anything produced by American indie cinema at the time: an avant-garde picture with little dialogue that completely strips Sin City of its glamour, and a post-apocalyptic vision of dehumanizing capitalism – the American dream gone awry. Moreover, ultimately it’s a fierce feminist statement on the power of retreat and on the power of letting go.
Joseph Fahim
77 min / Color, DCP
Director Nina Menkes
/ Screenplay Nina Menkes
/ Dir. of Photography Nina Menkes
/ Editor Nina Menkes, Tinka Menkes
/ Producer Nina Menkes
/ Cast Emmellda Beech, Tinka Menkes
/ Sales Arbelos
Nina Menkes (1963, California). Filmography: A Soft Warrior (1981, short), The Great Sadness of Zohara (1983, short doc.), Magdalena Viraga (1986), Queen of Diamonds (1991), The Bloody Child (1996), Massacre (Massaker, 2005, doc.), Phantom Love (2007), Dissolution (Hitparkut, 2010), Brainwashed (2021, doc.)
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