Last Fall I was browsing the Criterion Eclipse releases on Amazon. You probably know Eclipse, it is Criterion's subsidiary label for films that are a tad more obscure than those put out under the main banner. Also, Eclipse films are unrestored, a cost-cutting move by Criterion which allows them to pass the savings on to the customer. It must be added that they use the best available source prints for transfer to dvd, so the picture quality is still very good. I've watched many movies from Eclipse and have purchased a few (all are in themed box sets) and I've enjoyed every one of them. Therefore, I was browsing looking for something new, and I came across a three film set called "Rossellini's History Films", referring of course to director Roberto Rossellini, whose work included the Neorealist classics of his postwar trilogy : "Rome Open City", "Paisan" and "Germany Year Zero" (none of which I've seen, but they're available in their own Criterion set so that's a future purchase for me).
Looking at the History Films, the titles intrigued me : "The Age of the Medici", "Cartesius", and "Blaise Pascal". I've heard of the Medici family but know nothing of them, however, most everyone knows of philosopher Rene Descartes, if only through his most famous maxim : "I think, therefore I am". And I also knew of Blaise Pascal (also a philosopher though not as famous as Descarte) because back in 1995, when we all lived at the Burton Street house, Dad had a book called "Pensees" that was written by him and published posthumously. The title means "Thoughts", and I remember that it was the late, great Mister D who discovered Dad's book on the shelf and began to read it. I myself did little more than leaf through it at the time, but I never forgot the name Blaise Pascal, and indeed I went on to learn that he was not only a philosopher, but a genius mathematician and inventor who created an early mechanical calculator. In short, he was one of the most brilliant minds of the 17th century.
Seeing these three titles, and the low price (30 bucks for the set), I had to have it, but because it arrived during the holiday season, and also due to the length of the films and the chaotic nature of recent months, I put aside watching any because I wanted to concentrate on them, without any preoccupation.
In a final aside I should mention that all of these works were made for Italian television, so they aren't motion pictures per se, and from the one I watched tonight - "Blaise Pascal"(1972) - the difference in production values is evident, though mainly in the use of a static camera and very basic framing. However, the sets are period-correct, the color is rich and warm to simulate non-electric light, and above all, the acting and pacing is tremendous.
Blaise Pascal (born in 1623) was the son of a French court administrator who showed an early aptitude for calculation when doing the taxes for the villagers overseen by his father. At 17, he solved a problem involving the intersection of a cone with a plane that astounded the man who proposed it. After that, he was feted in local surroundings as a dinner guest. Elder scientists and well educated priests sought to hear him speak, for he was able to articulate his thoughts with high clarity, and his arguments went beyond the disciplined (and exalted) reason of the day. This was The Age of Reason, but Pascal was raised in the Christian faith, and as he thought things through, he concluded that God could not be comprehended by reasoning but only by the higher intellect of the heart and intuition.
He was an experimental physicist who undertook to prove the existence of the vacuum, which is explored at length in the film. This led him to ponder the meaning of infinity and the impossibility of certainty in religious matters. The church hierarchy at the time made pronouncements in absolute terms, and it is depicted in the story that they had priests who were also high level thinkers, but in one scene, Pascal out argues a priest who is certain of the composition of light, light being an emanation of God.
His individualistic mental acuity eventually sets him apart from both the scientific and religious communities. He wants to go beyond reason to know God, and yet he rejects the absolute truth of church dogmas.
He was cursed with poor health all his life and died at just 39 years of life, already an old man.
The film runs 129 minutes and has many subthemes, including that of Pascal's sister, who seeks to become a nun. Christianity is presented in it's highest sense but also in it's most superstitious. In a lengthy and early scene, a young Pascal sits witness to a Witch Trial. This scene alone is mesmerising, but then Rossellini moves on to Pascal's achievements in math, science and overall thought. Imagine yourself when you're just plain thinking, and you'll be able to relate.
The actor playing Pascal carries the film. The pacing is slow and mesmeric as he maintains his intellectual prowess even while the years pass and his health deteriorates.
As great as Rossellini's filmmaking is, it's the dialogue above all that makes "Blaise Pascal" a masterpiece. And the dialogue is made up largely of his thoughts. I'd give it Ten Stars if the ratings would allow. If you want a movie that will make you think and feel, this is it.
Two Thumbs Up To The Absolute Highest. /////
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