ABSTRACT
The Canadian omnibus film Love (1982), produced by Renee Perlmutter, showcased women screenwriters and women directors. Originating as an ambitious project with several well-known women scriptwriters, such as Germaine Greer, the film had a limited release and has virtually disappeared from film history. This chapter examines the three segments directed by Swedish-born, pioneering woman director Mai Zetterling: “The Black Cat in the Black Mouse Socks,” written by Joni Mitchell (who also played the lead role); “Julia,” written by Edna O’Brien; and “Love in the Marketplace,” written by Zetterling herself. The aim is to investigate Zetterling’s audiovisual contribution to the project and to discuss the implications of a Swedish, yet transnational, woman filmmaker working in a similar small nation welfare state cinema. Regarded as a triptych, the three segments all concern issues of hidden identities and duplicity, featuring dark and twisted interiors reflecting the mental states of the protagonists. The chapter addresses the use of “blackface” in the Joni Mitchell segment and the incestuous associations of the segment written by Zetterling.
