THE ODD NUMBER (Argentina/1962)

There was ample correspondence between Argentinian writers and European film directors in the 1960s. Among the most important examples: Antonioni's Blowup, based on a story by Julio Cortazar; Bertolucci's The Spider's Stratagem, an adaptation of a story by J.L. Borges, and French and Italian versions of Bioy Casares' "La Invencion de Morel". Moreover, Alan Resnais and his screenwriter Alain Robbe-Grillet credit Casares as the inspiration for Last Year at Marienbad. Argentinian director Manuel Artin, who virtually built a career on adaptations of Julio Cortazar's short stories, was inspired to do so by Marienbad and the Resnais/Duras collaboration Hiroshima Mon Amour.

The Odd Number is a faithful adaptation of Cortazar's "Las Cartas de Mama" (Mother's Letters). It's the story of an Argentinian couple living in Paris who can't get rid of the spectre of his brother and her ex-boyfriend, who died in Buenos Aires two years earlier. The couple lead a comfortable bourgeoise existence but the guilt over the brother's death (from a prolonged illness but shortly after their wedding) torments them. The film moves back and forth between 1962 Paris (filmed on location) and 1960 Buenos Aires with smooth fluidity. The presence of the dead brother in their lives is accentuated by letters sent by his mother, who now senile has come to believe the brother is alive and coming to Paris for a visit. The odd number is, of course, three. The Odd Number carries a strong implication that the love triangle between the brothers and the girl is a recapitulation of an earlier one in which the brothers competed to take the place of the absent father in their mother's heart. It's a film of interiority in which memories and dreams take precedence over action with an excellent lead performance by Lautaro Murua. The soundtrack is strikingly modern, certainly avant-garde when the film was released.

The Odd Number was seen as part of the "Ciclo de Cine Argentino". Lamentably, it's not available on video. It was shown with English subtitles.