Diva Dolorosa [1999] by Peter Delpeut

Delpeut’s specialty is taking archival and found footage and re-editing it into a new form. For Diva Dolorosa, Delpeut took footage from 14 silent Italian films and edited them into a beautiful film that is neither fiction nor documentary. The result is more like a tone poem in homage to the divas of Italian silent cinema. Delpeut presents a montage of famous (for their time) actresses all performing variations on a theme. We see them vamp, seduce and use their feminine wiles to get what they want. But there is always a price to pay...