Clips of the Mère Folle film shoot in France
Fou 1
This Fool represents the culture of gesture. He accuses Françoise, as an agent of psychoanalysis, of allying herself with the taboo on the body and the privileging of the word.
Fou 1: Mathieu Montanier
Fou 2
This younger brother, or double, of Fou 1 has also made a speciality of imitating the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. In this double act he tells bawdy stories and gets over-excited in the process.
Fou 2: Louis de Villers
TS Eliot
One of the voices of competitors of psychoanalysis in the early twentieth century, Eliot is nostalgic of the grandeur of Old Europe and blames Françoise for psychoanalysis’ preoccupation with the lower body. His advocacy of recycling in poetry is met with applause at the Trial.
TS Eliot: Matthew Wright
Man with Pipe: Claude Mercier Ythier
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Responding to the utterance of the word “confession”, Wittgenstein makes a few confessions of his own.
Wittgenstein: John Neubauer
Antonin Artaud
Another “mad genius” of the twentieth century, Artaud advocates his Theatre of Cruelty dressed up in a monk suit.
Artaud: Thomas Germaine
Vieille Folle
At least one person stands up for the witches burned at the stake. Vieille Folle accuses Françoise of going along with the sexist stories of the Fools and of forgetting the history of women’s persecutions.
Vieille Folle: Ursula Neubauer
Jeune Folle
This passionate young Fool accuses Françoise of complicity with pharmacists and others in medicine who subordinate patients and capitalize on mental illness.
Jeune Folle: Fleur Sulmont
Man with Pipe
An unidentified member of the Court, this mysterious man turns out to be a restorer of ancient musical instruments. With Françoise he develops a view of the psychoanalyst’s task as “striking the right chord”.
Françoise: Françoise Davoine
Man with Pipe: Claude Mercier Ythier
Françoise
Dr Davoine, the protagonist of the film, finds herself in the midst of a trial that seems to come straight from the tradition of the mediaeval theatre of the ‘soties’.
Françoise: Françoise Davoine
Artaud: Thomas Germaine
Mère Folle
The enigmatic leader of the Fools is only called by her function, “Mère Folle”. The president of the Court, she also inspects former patients to evaluate Françoise’s professional performance.
Mère Folle: Murielle Lucie Clément