La vallée: screencaps I

[michael_gothard_archive]

Bulle Ogier's Viviane haggles with the proprietor of a shop that sells local artefacts and crafts to tourists. She's
buying things to sell in her shop in Paris. What she really wants is rare feathers, but the shopkeeper says they're
very hard to get, and won't arrive for another two weeks – by which time Viviane will have had to to leave.



While Viviane examines a dagger, a handsome stranger, Michael Gothard's Olivier, appears in the shop. He wants
to earn some pocket money by selling a few things – including feathers – to the shopkeeper, so that he doesn't
use up his expedition's money. The shopkeeper quickly snaps them up at the price Oliver asks for them.



Viviane realises what's going on, and immediately tries to buy the feathers; the shopkeeper asks for double the
price he agreed to pay Olivier.



In her annoyance and confusion, Viviane drops the dagger on Olivier's foot.

Warning: some nudity



Having bound the wound with her scarf, she takes him to hospital in a taxi. She says she will never forgive herself,
but Olivier makes light of the injury. He tells her he has better feathers at home, but they are not for sale.



Unsurprisingly, Viviane finds it hot. To distract her from her embarrassment, Olivier asks her about herself; he finds
out she is married to a French Consul, collects orchids, and has a little dog called "Nouki." He almost manages not
to smirk at the dog's name.



After the hospital visit, the taxi takes Olivier and Viviane back to the camp where Olivier lives. He invites her to
come in, and have a look at his feathers.



She sees more than that when she goes into his tent. Gaetan (Jean-Pierre Kalfon) and Monique (Monique Giraudy)
are in their bunk.



Olivier seems amused by Viviane's embarrassment, but spares her blushes by hiding the couple with a blanket.

He explains that Gaetan is the leader of the expedition, which he is financing with an inheritance. Olivier's role is
to "handle the practical side of things."

As the film goes on, it becomes obvious that Gaetan, a dreamer, would not get very far without Olivier. What
seems less clear is why Olivier needs Gaetan.



Viviane is still clearly uncomfortable, but claims nothing is wrong. Then Olivier shows her the feathers, from
the Lesser Bird of Paradise – a very rare bird that lives on the plateau in the middle of the island.



Viviane has never seen anything like them, and asks Olivier to get some for her. He says it's impossible –
hunting's illegal.  He got them from a missionary.



She asks if she can buy the feathers from him, but Olivier refuses, and hides them away again.



Then he invites her to dine with them. At first, she is reluctant – Gaetan and Monique are making distracting
noises in the bunk.  When Olivier asks her, "Don't you like it here?" she replies sarcastically that it is "Charming,
delightful!" but he takes her at her word, and so she stays for dinner.



Gaetan's plan to visit the unexplored and uncharted area on the map "obscured by clouds" is discussed. When
Hermine (Valérie Lagrange) asks why no one has ever come back, Gaetan says it is because it's paradise. But
he also thinks their senses are not yet open enough to go here. Olivier doesn't look wholly convinced.



Viviane asks to be taken home, but then says she'd like a last look at the feathers. Again, she asks to buy them,
and again Olivier refuses to sell, or even lend them to her.



But he can give her something they both want.



The next day, when Viviane comes to visit the camp again, Olivier tries to pick up where they left off.



But Viviane is a little cold – she has a business proposition. She wants to pay Olivier and Gaetan to get more
feathers for her, from the missionary. But Olivier and Gaetan aren't interested in business, and in any case, they
say they may not come back from their next trip.



Instead, Gaetan suggests that Viviane joins them for the first part of their trip, and speaks to the missionary
herself. It will take two weeks to get there, and she can rent a plane back.



Viviane says she will need to think about it. She doesn't think Olivier wants to have her along.



He says he is just worried that spending 2 weeks in a jeep will be too rough for her.



She is just concerned that it will be awkward. She thinks Gaetan and Monique, and Olivier and Hermine, are two
couples.  Olivier says "Maybe Hermine is with Gaetan too", so she decides to come along.



They set off.



Olivier was right - Viviane finds the primitive washing conditions trying. She is also embarrassed when requesting
a toilet stop.



Olivier makes light of her fear of snakes, and of being seen.



They are greeted by some local people, gathering for a two-yearly festival.



Viviane asks one of them whether she might be able to buy feathers at the meeting – she is told she might, and
that he will help her.



He takes Viviane and Olivier to a smoky hut, where Viviane finds feathers for sale. She is asking the prices of
those on offer when an official – a white Australian – demands that she come outside and speak to him. What
she is doing is illegal.



Once outside, she and Olivier give the man the slip, amongst the swirling crowds of brightly attired tribesmen
gathered for the celebration. But Viviane also loses sight of Olivier.



She searches for him for an hour, getting more and more concerned.



At last, they meet up again. Olivier doesn't seem to have been terribly worried about her.

The group sets off on their travels again.



They arrive at a church set up by the missionary who gave Olivier his feathers, and go to his house. He tells
Viviane that he hasn't got any more Kumul feathers, and hasn't seen any since Olivier's last visit.



Viviane is disappointed, saying – perhaps trying to hurt Olivier – that the trip has been for nothing. She is even
less impressed when the missionary tells her that she can't use his plane to return to the capital, because it
broke down in Port Moresby.  She is worried about being late to meet her husband. The missionary is surprised.
He thought she was Olivier's wife. Her only alternatives are to wait 15 days for the plane, or travel on with Olivier's
group for a week, as far as the last mission, at Wutung, where there is a working plane.



Throughout the discussion, as Viviane becomes more angry and distressed, Olivier carries on peeling fruit, and
looks, if anything, amused, or even pleased by her plight.



Viviane reluctantly decides to travel on with Olivier, and thanks the missionary. As they take their leave of him,
he suggests they visit an old sorcerer, who never speaks, and lives on the mountain. He has a fantastic collection
of feathers. He never sells them, but sometimes gives them away to people he likes.



They visit the sorcerer, and find a fabulous bower full of feathers. Viviane immediately starts to cheer up.



Viviane has a silent communication with the old man.



She has a vision of some mud-men, and evidently passes some kind of test, because the sorcerer gives her
a magnificent array of feathers.



When they return to their camp, Viviane puts on a hippy top – unlike anything she has worn before – and joins
the group.



According to Olivier, Gaetan and the others are preparing for full moon. They have painted their faces, and are
drinking from a gourd. Hermine gives some to Viviane. Olivier asks Hermine why she did it, and warns her not
to make him angry.



Viviane tries to find out why he is sulking. He tells her that drink isn't "for her", and that she's mad to have drunk
the liquid, which Gaetan calls 'Dionysus Liquor.' Viviane doesn't want to be left out. She asks if he loves her. He
says "Yes."  She says she thinks he's bored, and he just laughs.



She drinks more of the liquor. The group have a jamming session. Olivier plays a flute, and Viviane, some bongos.



Under the influence of Dionysus' Liquor, Viviane enjoys the wonders of nature.



She makes friends with a Green Tree Python, then, as Olivier comes to stop her, she becomes suddenly terrified.



They set off again.