LYRICAL NITRATE
Directed & Written by: Peter Delpeut.
Produced by: Suzanne van Voorst.
Edited by: Menno Boerema.
Country of Origin: Netherlands. 50 min. Not Rated.

THE FORBIDDEN QUEST
Directed & Written by: Peter Delpeut.
Produced by: Suzanne van Voorst.
Director of Photography: Stef Tijdink.
Edited by: Menno Boerema.
Music by: Loek Dikker.
Both Released by: Zeitgeist.
Country of Origin: Netherlands. 71 min. Not Rated.
With: Joseph O'Connor & Roy Ward.

Compiled by director Peter Delpeut from disintegrating films made from 1905 to 1915 and found in an Amsterdam movie house attic, Lyrical Nitrate is a meditation on the nature of watching movies. Until around 1955, the base of film stock was nitrate, which slowly deteriorates over time. Thus, the compiled footage is silent, dramatically emphasized by operatic music and added sound effects, and mostly in black and white, though some fragments are in color. While some of the clips are merely (though quite engagingly) evocative, others act as short linear narratives. Most riveting are the enactment of a failed romance in a shipwreck's wake and a hand-tinted Crucifixion scene - of note due to how it gets pathos across without brutality. By the end, one is reminded that its manipulation is one of film's most salient traits.

In The Forbidden Quest, clips from the early 1900s from actual expeditions help tell a fictional seafaring adventure set in the Antarctic. Joseph O'Connor gives a virtuoso performance as J.C. Sullivan, an old ship carpenter possessing footage of a voyage on the Hollandia, a legendary vanished ship. Delpeut continues to pursue the theme of cinematic manipulation present in Lyrical Nitrate. Cinematographer Tijdink imbues Sullivan's black-and-white interview with a subtly scratchy look, making it appear as though it was actually shot in 1941. This provides a visually smooth transition to the assembled footage.

O'Connor's powerhouse histrionics enriches what is essentially a feature-length monologue. Sullivan is hilariously modest, claiming not to remember occurrences, and then proceeding - with a straight face - to discuss them minutely. He feigns the inability to conjure up words to describe a moment, after having more than proved his articulateness, and uses his tone of voice to register disapproval when his interviewer does not keep up with him. And it’s almost as if O’Connor is relying on the evidence of the film footage in order to reassure himself that he isn’t crazy. As told by Delpeut, his account is entirely believable. Reymond Levy
April 23, 2004