AllMovie

Avant-garde filmmaker Werner Schroeter created this cinematic view of the Nancy Experimental Theater Festival in France taking advantage of the emphasis on "experimental" and thereby mirroring the spirit of the festival in the composition of his film itself. Clips of the performers as they go through their paces (jumping into a fountain at dawn, imitating penguins, satirizing a musical revue, and generally being quite expressive) are intermixed with commentary by Schroeter and Mostefa Djadja, and interviews are held with characters as diverse as an ex-university professor who is now a street person but has a lot to say about the festival and life in general. This montage of performances, commentary, and interviews has a fitting counterpoint in the musical accompaniment of works by Mahler, Beethoven, Puccini, and other well-known composers.