Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo? (1966)
Directed by William Klein

Film Review

One of the weirdest films to have been made in the 1960s, Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo? looks like something that French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard may have knocked out whilst under the influence of powerful mind altering drugs - a chaotic montage of images that has barely the merest semblance of a storyline.  The film was in fact made not by Godard but by the avant-garde American artist William Klein and is his attempt at absurdist cinema, a work that is conceived as having no structure or meaning. 

Although the film's innovative style is at first interesting, once the novelty value has worn off its glaring lack of coherence does tend to weaken its impact and it risks being seen as an example of self-conscious artistry without any real substance.   By this time in his incredibly productive and varied career, Klein had created something of a revolution in the field of art photography and he was presumably hoping to have the same impact on filmmaking.

Strongly influenced by the early work of Alain Resnais and Chris Marker, William Klein focused much of his attention on documentary making, and it was here that he had some notable successes, with films such as Mister Freedom (1968), Grands soirs et petits matins (1968) and The Little Richard Story (1980), many of which were intended to further the cause of African-Americans at a time when anti-black feeling was rife in his native America.

Film Synopsis

The American fashion model Polly Maggoo just can't help drawing attention to herself.  Everyone finds her fascinating, and why shouldn't they?  The celebrated couturier Isidore Ducasse has adopted this perfectly formed model as her muse and claims that she is one of her chief inspirations.  At the moment, a television film crew have taken over Polly's chic Parisian apartment, in preparation for an interview in which the model will be bombarded with questions probing just about every facet of her life.  The tension is electrifying.

Alas, the interview doesn't go quite as well as its director had hoped, so he insists on meeting up with Polly again several times afterwards.  Naturally, keen to stay on good terms with the media, Polly has no objection to having her time preyed upon in this way, but unwittingly her generosity sends out the wrong messages.  In no time at all, the director finds that he has fallen hopelessly in love with this exquisite creature.

Of course, this unfortunate man is not the model's only ardent admirer, how could he be?  The debonair Prince Igor is equally smitten with Polly and has made up his mind that one day she will be his.  And since the Prince invariably gets what he wants, it would seem that the model's fate is pretty well sealed.  Prince Igor initiates his plan of attack by sending his trusty agents to Paris to look for the object of his desire.  When the Prince subsequently turns up in Paris it is on the off chance that he might meet up with Polly and thereby have a perfect occasion to press his suit.  What he hadn't expected is the possibility that his darling may have gone away...