centro cultural tina modotti Rosario Castellanos (México)
Uccidiamo ciò che amiamo. Il resto non è mai stato vivo.
Matamos lo que amamos. Lo demás no ha estado vivo nunca.
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Rosario Castellanos
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opera: Alexander Grüner-Moström, Three Rooms, Yet Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves, particolare, 2019
Inspired by The Ballad of Reading Gaol by C.3.3 (Oscar Wilde), 1898
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It’s been more than thirty years since I saw this complex, provocative and amazing art film Querelle, R W Fassbinder’s very last film as a director. Querelle is about searching for identity, and the desire to love and be loved. It is about domination and of being dominated; a journey in finding oneself but also in meeting your own self-destructiveness. The film is supported by a suggestive mood, unfolded by a distinctive use of color and light; imbedded in a surrealistic dream-like scenery. The mood is enhanced by an insistent soundscape, monotonous voices in short dialogues, and the humming and singing of the character brothel madame Lysiene: «Each man kills the thing he loves! Each man kills the thing he loves! Da-da-daaa. Da-da da-daaa. Each man kills the thing he loves! Each man kills the thing he loves! Da-da-daaa. Da-da da-daaa… »
The humming in Querelle got stuck in my memory. The words in the song turned out to be borrowed from Oscar Wilde’s poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol, more specifically the verses seven, eight and nine. This became my way of getting to know Wilde’s poem and the story behind it … Alexander Grüner-Moström
Yet each man kills the thing he loves
By each let this be heard.
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word.
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!
Eppure ogni uomo uccide ciò che ama,
ognuno ascolti dunque ciò che dico:
alcuni uccidono con uno sguardo d’amarezza,
altri con una parola adulatoria,
il codardo uccide con un bacio,
l’uomo coraggioso con la spada!
Oscar Wilde, frammento da La ballata del carcere di Reading, 1898
Parte del testo è stato messo in musica col titolo “Each man kills the thing he loves”, brano che fa parte della colonna sonora del film “Querelle de Brest” (1982) di Rainer Werner Fassbinder, tratto dal romanzo “Querelle de Brest” di Jean Genet.
Uccidiamo ciò che amiamo … Matamos lo que amamos … Rosario Castellanos (México)