Spectre: Sanity, Madness & the Family Bored, Tired & Inspired

Spectre: Sanity, Madness & the Family (2021) is not an easy watch. It popped up in MUBI as I searched for somewthing new to watch. The title alone caught my attention. Like me, maybe you read it and thought, 'Sounds interesting, different at least'. And you would be both right and wrong. Right: it's different. Wrong: it's not interesting. Not in the way you'd want it to be.

I had no idea what to expect. The synopsis sold it like a noir mystery with arthouse and almost experimental sensitivity. I had to watch it.

This film will try to trick you. It will slow down. It will be intolerably boring. It will do anything it can to try to hypnotize you. But you must not let it. If you do, you could end up down a weird path. I'm not saying that's where I am now because of it, but it's possible that I'm on that path, right now.

If you overcome Spectre's terrible weariness, it might actually inspire you. But it could also erode your sense of identity and make you join a cult.

What is it?

Spectre is a mockumentary of sorts, except there's no comedy in it. Everything is real, or at least it feels real. It follows Jean, a musician and former cult member, after he receives a package from his estranged sister. Inside he finds old tapes: interviews between the cult leader and the rest of Jean's family. Through the film, Jean tries to piece together his family's, particularly what happened to his father.

A mystery, a family secret, a cult. Don't fall for it – like I did. Remember: this movie will always try to trick you. It may be framed as some kind of minimalist neo-noir thriller; in reality, it's more like a dude talking over a family vacation video. But it's also a form of hypnosis. Scene by scene, it wants you to let your guard down. I knew that's the game this movie is playing, but still, it works.

For now, just know that the mystery is more of a pretext for Jean to talk about the creative process behind his music. Throughout the film, Jean travels the world recollecting old memories, and creating new music based on what he finds.

Music is an integral part of this film. Jean-Baptiste de Laubier, also known as musical artist Para One, is the director and writer behind Spectre. In film, he's mostly known for his work in Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

At all times, his music is on display to the point where it feels like the story is just a pretext for the music. Old and forgotten memories clash with the fresh, unlocked echoes of the investigation to create new music.

Para One has some great tunes, if you're looking for something new. Of course, some of his music is also hypnotic and suggestive in a way that hooks me. There is a very unique way in which the music enhances the narrative in Spectre, and it goes the other way, too.

But, as with everything else in this film, the music also unfolds into a recollection of de Laubier's own family history. There's something more than fiction here. Spectre is a meditation on creativity, memory and family.

Well then, is it worth it?

There's nothing I can say or do to make you want to see this film. And if for some reason you end up watching it, I would probably agree with everything you could say about it. It's boring, it's long, it's repetitive, it's monotonous. It absolutely is.

But it all serves a purpose. There's so much distance and artifice. Aesthetically, the film does all it can to keep you away, while at the same time dealing with deep, personal matters like the creative process of an artist. Just take a look at the trailer; it feels like some Cold War era government program designed to erase your identity.

The film itself is a mix of music, voice-over narration, found-footage. It's a strange mix of feelings: at the same time, it feels personal and distant. It feels real. It feels artificial. It's a mix of reality and fiction. If you started watching without context, you would be forgiven for thinking it's a documentary. It might not be, but it shows a truth.

And don't let the crescendo and rapid-fire images fool you, it's slow as hell. The music, the nostalgia in the narration, the dream-like quality of the images: remember, this movie is trying to hypnotize you. After a while, Spectre blends three realities: yours, Jean's and Para One's. And that's where it gets you, that's how it got me. The hypnosis pulls you into a deep feeling of communion. It drags you into a lull. Slowly, it stops feeling like a movie. Everything feels so close, so small and personal. It's like you're the one doing it, the one playing music, plugging the jacks and cables, rewinding the tapes.

You can sort of remember there's supposed to be a Jean telling the story of his family and how they lived as part of a cult. You can hear Para One's pulling you deeper into the scene. You know in some way you're watching a film. But Spectre makes you feel like you're a combination of the three. It feels like direct experience rather than just watching something.

Why would it stay with you?

In a way, Spectre reminds me of Chris Marker's 1962 La Jetée. A story about memory and sacrifice told entirely through still photos. Both films are expansive stories told in a minimalist way. It's clever, it's different. It could even be infectious. It's impossible to watch Spectre and walk away without it changing you, even in some small way. If you let it in, there's something that grabs you and won't let go.

Even now, years after watching the film, I often think to myself, 'I should join a cult' 'as an artist or a filmmaker, I don't need much. I could place a camera here, come up with some background story for it and start from there.' The film is many things, some of them will definitely drive you away, but it's also inspiring. I couldn't help but feel like I should and could emulate it. In a meta way, isn't that one of the main attributes of smaller scale movies? They have that illusion of being something attainable, even when they're lying to you.

As I said, it's not an easy watch, but it's rewarding. It's unique, and if you get through it, you'll experience something that most films don't even try. That's enough to give it a chance. But don't fall for it.