L’invitation (1973)

(On Cable TV, December 2022) The overarching plot of L’invitation fits on a very small piece of paper, as a group of office workers are invited by a recently bereaved colleague to attend a party at his country estate. It’s what happens afterward that’s both the fun and the disappointment of it. The absence of plot means that this becomes a character study, as people are taken out of their normal office environment and asked to reveal themselves in more personal ways. There’s a lot of subtle stuff at play here—resentment from the hierarchical superiors at the display of wealth by a subordinate who recently inherited a substantial sum, male/female relationships once outside the work environment, the discomfort of being asked to interact with colleagues on a weekend outing. That’s all quite intriguing and fertile terrain for drama. The problem here, and this may more be an issue with twenty-first century viewers used to extreme literalization of a metaphor, is that the film itself feels incredibly dull for what it tries to do. I would imagine a modern treatment going to horror or outright comedy, while writer-director Claude Goretta’s L’invitation muddles through drama at very low intensity. Historically, the film was a landmark of Swiss cinema, even earning Academy Award attention. But from a contemporary perspective, it’s not quite as attention-grabbing—although it’s worth noting that, even fifty years later, much of the dynamics at play in the film will be instantly recognizable to anyone working in an office environment. If they can stay awake through the somewhat tepid proceedings, that is. [January 2023: As it happens, 1982 French film Que les gros salaires levent le doigt may be what I’m talking about when I talk about a more maximalist take on the same premise, as it takes a more outlandish comedic take on a similar premise.]