Synopsis: A documentary about twins who speak in an invented language.
Director: Jean-Pierre Gorin
Date: 1979
How viewed: youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqyvBN4lXm4
Rating: 2/5
David Meyer says:
Jean-Pierre Gorin was pursuing one subject for his documentary, when, to his surprise he discovered another - the life and delusions of the downward-spiraling American working-class family.
I say:
This is the 3rd (and final) film that was missing from my list, and found a few days ago on youtube (though you can get a Region 1 DVD which contains this and 2 other of Jean-Pierre Gorin's documentaries). One of the comments posted on youtube about this film says 'One of my all time fave films', whereas in contrast I thought it was one of the worst films I've ever seen. It's a documentary about identical twin girls who communicate with each other in their own invented language (known as idioglossia - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idioglossia). This is such a fantastic subject - but unfortunately this is a complete dog's breakfast of a film that completely fails to address or answer almost all of the questions that this raises. The girls (Ginny and Gracie - Poto and Cabengo are what they call each other) seem to have invented their personal language because their family was concerned that they were retarded (probably not a PC concept these days) and so they were kept at home and away from outside influences. The film seems to lay most of the blame on the facts that: their father is American and their mother German, their German speaking grandmother came over and looked after them most of the time, the father is more of less out of work and had little money, and they moved across the States to San Diego - none of which seem to me to be a convincing cause. The film was made as they were starting to be assimilated into the wider world, and, as you might expect, the kids are hyperactive when they are brought into new environments like the zoo, and they clearly play up to the camera, but the film-maker gives up after 2 days and goes home as he can't make them sit still! However, I really liked the fact that on their first visit to a bookshop and being allowed to chose a book to take home, one of twins chose a book on Volkswagen maintenance and the other one on quantum mechanics! So, anyway, to save you having to watch, the denouement is that their invented language is in fact English, but they simply mis-pronounce or have a variety of ways of pronouncing words - there's an example in the film of 16 ways they pronounce 'potato'. Personally I blame the mother's hair (one example in the photo), which is clearly alien.
I say:
This is the 3rd (and final) film that was missing from my list, and found a few days ago on youtube (though you can get a Region 1 DVD which contains this and 2 other of Jean-Pierre Gorin's documentaries). One of the comments posted on youtube about this film says 'One of my all time fave films', whereas in contrast I thought it was one of the worst films I've ever seen. It's a documentary about identical twin girls who communicate with each other in their own invented language (known as idioglossia - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idioglossia). This is such a fantastic subject - but unfortunately this is a complete dog's breakfast of a film that completely fails to address or answer almost all of the questions that this raises. The girls (Ginny and Gracie - Poto and Cabengo are what they call each other) seem to have invented their personal language because their family was concerned that they were retarded (probably not a PC concept these days) and so they were kept at home and away from outside influences. The film seems to lay most of the blame on the facts that: their father is American and their mother German, their German speaking grandmother came over and looked after them most of the time, the father is more of less out of work and had little money, and they moved across the States to San Diego - none of which seem to me to be a convincing cause. The film was made as they were starting to be assimilated into the wider world, and, as you might expect, the kids are hyperactive when they are brought into new environments like the zoo, and they clearly play up to the camera, but the film-maker gives up after 2 days and goes home as he can't make them sit still! However, I really liked the fact that on their first visit to a bookshop and being allowed to chose a book to take home, one of twins chose a book on Volkswagen maintenance and the other one on quantum mechanics! So, anyway, to save you having to watch, the denouement is that their invented language is in fact English, but they simply mis-pronounce or have a variety of ways of pronouncing words - there's an example in the film of 16 ways they pronounce 'potato'. Personally I blame the mother's hair (one example in the photo), which is clearly alien.
