The Captive / The Prisoner by Marcel Proust

Let’s discuss the Chantal Akerman 2000 film of The Captive + any selections of passages that you choose from Marcel Proust’s volume.

It would be wonderful to also read out loud the “Overture” (the opening pages of Swann’s Way) so, kindly bring Swann’s Way to this special event too:)

La captive
Directed by Chantal Akerman • 2000 • Belgium, France
Starring Sylvie Testud, Stanislas Merhar, Olivia Bonamy

Adapting the fifth volume of Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time,” Chantal Akerman transforms the material into a mesmerizing study of voyeurism, control, and sexual obsession centered on the relationship between a possessive young man (Stanislas Merhar) and his passive lover (Sylvie Testud), whom he is convinced is carrying on a lesbian affair. As he relentlessly stalks her every move, the two find themselves imprisoned in a cycle of jealousy, erotic longing, and self-destruction.