The Retrospective: Translated From the Hebrew by Stuart Schoffman by A. B. Yehoshua

archive director unlocks the door and enters. “What is this,” jokes Moses, “you were afraid we’d run out without saying goodbye? I mean, it’s downright illegal to lock up an old man with an unstable prostate.” De Viola laughs. He serves the institute not only as archive director but also as priest, he explains; teachers and students take the liberty to enter his room at will, as they would a confessional booth. To ensure his guests a proper rest, he thought it wise to lock the door and also put up a Do Not Disturb sign. Two more films await them today, and judging by the reactions to
Circular Therapy,
there is great interest among faculty and students.
    En route to the small hall, they learn of a slight change in the original program. The screening of
Slumbering Soldiers,
whose title in Spanish is
The Installation,
has been postponed till tomorrow, and in its place the film known here as
Obsession
will be screened—it’s probably
The Flying Pen,
what else could it be? The switch has been made, says the priest, “to show the Spanish people that your early work deals with psychology, not just ethics.”
    â€œThe same crowd?”
    â€œMostly.”
    â€œAnd I thought they’d had enough, after that superficial film you insisted on starting my retrospective with.”
    But Juan de Viola firmly dismisses this self-criticism. “The film is not superficial, simply a first effort, and a first work of art, if motivated by a religious inspiration or at least a metaphysical one, will always possess a certain power.”
    â€œYou insist on the religious issue,” protests Moses, “but you should know that neither I nor Trigano would define our work that way.”
    The priest is unfazed.
    â€œThere are many people with a religious temperament who are ashamed to admit it. Don’t forget when you made the film. In the sixties, a strong secular outlook prevailed in the world, and religious faith was completely out of style. People like you camouflaged their longing for the absolute in foggy allegorical parables. But the world has changed since then, although not always, to my sorrow, for the better.”
    â€œAnd you see a religious aspect to my amusing little
Obsession
?”
    â€œOf course,” says the priest without hesitation.
    â€œAnd this one has also been dubbed?”
    â€œAll of them.”
    â€œWhat is this? Again you’re forcing me to watch a film I already forgot and now can’t understand?”
    â€œWhen it comes to a creative artist, this is not necessarily a liability. Perhaps you can get some help from the younger memory of your companion.”
    â€œIn this movie, if I remember correctly, her role was marginal.”
    â€œBut in the film to be screened this evening,” declares the priest, “she’s the star.”
4
    A GAIN, APPLAUSE IN the little theater, more crowded now than at the previous screening. Young people sit on the stairs, and a few older women have arrived, apparently housewives who’ve finished their daily work.
    â€œYou don’t have TV reception in your province,” whispers Moses, “so the locals come to see weird films in black-and-white?”
    â€œMediocre television is readily available, but in recent years we have persuaded the local people to look for something more. The films we screen for them are usually old ones, but admission is free, and sometimes they get a chance to argue with the filmmakers, so some are willing to take the risk.”
    The director of the archive again introduces his guests, this time briefly, and the Israeli director insists on saying a few preliminary words. Again he cannot resist carping about their choosing such a crude early film from his many decades of work. Yes, he remembers the lighthearted spirit of the original film, but he wonders if it will hold up after all these years, especially when dubbed in Spanish.
    Juan de Viola orders the