‘SUCH a fuss over an empty carriage,” says someone near the end of “The Duchess of Langeais.” This movie is an empty carriage.
In 19th-century France, a handsome general (Guillaume Depardieu) meets a coquettish duchess (Jeanne Balibar) at a ball. She signals that she’s available for an amorous adventure but then rejects him, seemingly on a whim. He becomes obsessed, but she continues to cold-shoulder him until the two trade places: Now he gets to avenge her game-playing by ignoring her increasingly desperate letters.
The carriage causes a scandal because it belongs to the married duchess; it travels from her home to the general’s in daylight, so that everyone can take note. Except, no one is in it.
Based on the Balzac short story originally called “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Jacques Rivette’s film is full of painstaking historical detail, but the behavior of the two nonlovers is mired in inaction and emotionally incomprehensible.
THE DUCHESS OF LANGEAIS
Exquisite void.
In French, with English subtitles. Running time: 137 minutes. Not rated (sexual situations). At the Lincoln Plaza and the IFC Center.