Goto, Isle of Love
France 1968

France 1968, “Goto, l’île d’amour” (original title), 89 min, colour & b&w, French dir Walerian Borowczyk sc Walerian Borowczyk, Dominique Duvergé cam Guy Durban ed Charles Bretoneiche mus Georg Friedrich Händel cast Pierre Brasseur, Guy Saint-Jean, Ligia Branice, Jean-Pierre Andréani, Ginette Leclerc, René Dary prod Louis Duchesne, René Thévenet pc Euro Images sales Argos Films aw Prix Georges Sadoul 1969

Grozo (Guy Saint-Jean), a petty thief works his way up the absurd hierarchy of Goto, an archipelago cut off from civilization by a tumultuous earthquake. Amongst his menial tasks are cleaning the governor’s boots, attending to the dogs and catching flies. What keeps him going is the dream of possessing Glossia (Ligia Branice-Borowczyk), a stifled beauty trapped in a loveless marriage to the melancholic dictator (Pierre Brasseur). Stunningly designed, Goto, Island of Love is a film in which bizarre props, atmospheric sets and (most importantly) animals, are given as much weight on screen as the human actors. Banned in Communist Poland and Franco’s Spain, Goto, Isle of Love is arguably Borowczyk’s most original film. Features surrealistic sights, poetic flashes of colour and the stunning use of Händel’s organ concerto.