Duet for Cannibals (Swedish: Duett för kannibaler) is a 1969 Swedish psychological drama film[1] written and directed by American writer Susan Sontag, in her directorial debut.[2] It stars Adriana Asti, Gösta Ekman, Lars Ekborg and Agneta Ekmanner.
Duet for Cannibals | |
---|---|
Directed by | Susan Sontag |
Written by | Susan Sontag |
Starring | |
Production company | Sandrews |
Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
Country | Sweden |
Language | Swedish |
Duet for Cannibals had its world premiere at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.[3]
Despite being a Swedish-language film, the screenplay for Duet for Cannibals was written in English by Sontag, who described herself as not being "competent" in Swedish.[4] It was then translated into Swedish for the Swedish actors.[4]
Kevin Kelly of The Boston Globe described the film as "virtually devoid of any real dramatic sensibility [...] The film is unbelievable either as black parable or self-consciously disciplined pap."[5] Richard Roud of The Guardian praised its casting and the "richness of possible interpretations of the film", concluding: "Its originality of texture, its degree of visual invention, is remarkable, and not only for a first film. In short, Duet for Cannibals is a stunning achievement."[6]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 80% based on five reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[7]
In 2019, Slant Magazine's Jesse Cataldo gave the film a score of three out of four stars, concluding: "An interesting, if tonally inconsistent, experiment, it serves as an intriguing cinematic extension of its maker's more well-known written work."[2]