Statue behind Marie?
There are several shots (including the final one) of Marie standing in front of a statue and a couple trees. Where is this statue in Paris? Does it or its location have any importance that I'm missing?
shareYes, it is Athena.
Statues also make an appearance in Rivette's Duelle and Le Pont Du Nord.
Structures like the statues, streets, squares, buildings, parks, etc, are characters in his films. They are all monumental yet they silently survey everything and are turned inward, instead of projecting themselves outward and forward in an imposing manner. They lack specific identities and are even a bit amorphous, but they do represent unknown forces, especially the statues. The statues see all and watch all but they are quietly wrapped inside their own chthonian conundrums, their ancient forces passively and randomly permeating our existence.
Unknown forces were responsible for constructing the Thirteen and for eventually resurrecting the Thirteen, unknown forces were responsible for placing those letters into Colin's hands, unknown forces were responsible for bringing together Colin and Thomas in a pivotal moment, unknown forces were responsible for the unchoreographed output of the Prometheus actors during rehearsal, unknown forces lure restless Marie - an irrelevant member of the troupe and unimportant character in the film - to a random street corner, looking for a long lost revolution, where Athena - a one-time important G-ddess - silently broods over her lost ghost of a city.
Haunting moment, neither Athena or Marie know what they are looking for, neither fit into where they are, they are purposeless, windchapped chaff, here and there, out in the world in the middle of everything yet part of nothing, despirited, ghosted.