Playing with Fire is a decidedly different take on the cliched & overplayed rich- daughter-been-kidnapped genre. The mid 70’s film is absurdist sadomasochistic drama, that’s alive with surprise & surrealism- shifting easily between the playful & absurd, and sinister-to-subtly unsettling. Here from Cult Epics is a recent Blu-Ray release of the film- featuring a commentary track by respected film critic Tim Lucas, and a few other extras.

Playing With Fire (aka Le jeu avec le feu) is a French/ Italian production from the year 1975. It was directed and written by Brest, Finistère born Alain Robbe-Grillet. The Frenchman is very much an experimental, arty & erotic-focused filmmaker, and this film stands as one of his more known pictures- due to the inclusions of a certain Sylvia Kristel from the huge 1970s softcore hit Emmanuelle. In all Robbe-Grillet helmed ten films between the early 1960s and early 2000s. These went from metaphysical mystery L’Immortelle (1963), onto experimental war drama The Man Who Lies (1968), erotic horror fantasy Successive Slidings of Pleasure (1974), and surreal nightmare-come-off kilter thriller The Beautiful Prisoner (1983). I was previously aware of Robbe-Grillet’s work due to the excellent BFI boxset Six Films 1963-1974, which I highly recommend. So, it was great to see this new release of the director's work.
 
Playing With Fire sets us down in an uneasy & slightly confusing manner - as we see a butler & housemaid going about their work, as banker Georges de Saxe (Philippe Noiret) sits at his large desk writing. Over the top of this we have a male-voiced monologue, which we presume is from Georges- but it’s not wholly clear. It’s decidedly creepy detailing his eighteen-year-old daughter- growing to look like her mother, then being whipped(by the servants), bathed by him, with her dead body put to rest in a coffin- which we get a brief visual snapshot of.
 
Then before we can get our bearings fully we are whisked off to the railway station, where we see (we think) the same young woman being accosted- her blouse pulled open, with black marks noticed on her breast. She’s then taken (in a decidedly slapstick- if seedy manner) into a nearby tunnel, to be tied up & then thrown in a basket marked ‘live animal’, before being placed on the station by a moustached, trenchcoat-wearing, and trilby-wearing man- who tells the train guard inside the basket is a puppy.
 
Next, we zip back to Georges de Saxe mansion, where the businessman is sitting in his large garden. He is approached by two creepy acting men in macks/ hats- who declare that his daughter has been kidnapped. And he has a short time to come up with the money- as first she is to be taken to a depraved house of pleasure to be sexually abused, and then if the money has not been paid- she will be burnt alive. The banker is sprayed in the face and passes out.

He’s awoken by his butler- understandably all a panic regarding his daughter- but he’s led upstairs to find his daughter Carolina (Anicée Alvina) is not kidnapped/ perfectly well. All the above may seem like a large plot dump of a big part of the film, but it’s not- as all this occurs early on, and really the film then really twists off on its bizarre axis.
 
The film runs at one hour & fifty-two minutes- and for its runtime it remains tonally unbalancing/ puzzling, switching between the serious & at times sinister, onto the playful and absurd, though to the kinky and unsettling. 
 
Sylvia Kristel appears a fair way into the film, and may/ may not be another captive of the kidnappers/ owners of a larger house that’s full of rooms where all manner of depravity is going on. And as for the fleshy/ sexy side, this is kept (largely) to the softcore, if at times kinky/unsettling side of things. All in all, Playing with Fire is a curious, at times unnerving/ to oddly playful & amusing film- which really does take you on an unpredictable cinematic ride.
 
Moving onto this Blu-Ray, and it’s a region-free disc. It features a new 2k scan- which looks great, with a great balance of tones & colours. Moving onto the extras side of things, and the main thing here is the commentary track by genre expert/ film critic per-excellence Tim Lucas, and as we’ve come to expect this is an excellent/ gold standard track. He begins by talking about how the film was shot in the later months of 1974. Moving on to point out details in the opening shots, and the meaning/themes behind the monologue. He points out supporting actors, and briefly touches on their other work. He talks about the sonic manipulation/ use of music in the film, and who was in charge of this side of the production. He discusses themes in this film, which follow on from some of the director's previous film Successive Slidings of Pleasure- the male fantasy of women, and their reality. He talks about how each of the film's characters has its own contradictions and discusses the film's producers. He points out moments when the actors' subtle point out they are actors within their dialogue. Later on, he discusses sound themes/ elements in the film, and their meanings. Points out actors who play multiple roles in the film, and tries to decipher the different realities/ what are real/ dreams. A truly wonderful track, which really opened up/ made me understand the film better, and most certainly a track I’ll be returning to again. Otherwise, we get an archive interview with the director's wife Catherine Robbe-Grillet (5.16), a promotional gallery, and a few trailers.
 
The release features reversible cover art- taking in both the English & uncensored French artwork/title. Also featured is a glossy eight-page booklet, which features a new essay regarding director Alain Robbe-Grillet by film scholar Marcus Stiglegger. As well as a good selection of stills/poster art- this booklet is Ltd.
 
In conclusion, it certainly is wonderful to see another one of Alain Robbe-Grillet films getting reissued, as he really was such a distinctive and at times challenging auteur. With a great bold new print, and most worthwhile extras. If you have a penchant for drama/ genre film blends that puzzle, surprise, and ultimately entertain with their tonally unbalancing charm, then Playing With Fire will most certainly be for you.