Brother Carl(Bröder Carl)

Sontag essentially remade Duet for Cannibals – revisiting its central juxtaposition of couples intertwined in power dynamics across gender and generational lines – for its follow-up film. Yet substituting for the original’s black humour a religious parable, she provides a more profound psychological exploration of the notion of innocence, now embodied by the titular character Carl: a mute ‘holy fool’ and traumatised former dancer. He is a brother in name only, a stranger in the midst of the bickering couples, whose catatonic, unsocialised presence and agonised, Christ-like suffering suggest the hope for redemption and possibly a miracle coming from beyond and transcending a fallen bourgeois society. Terzieff is perfectly cast as Carl, his atavistic presence bringing associations of Artaud and Pasolini, both important influences for Sontag.

Cannes Directors' Fortnight