The Big Departure(1972)

The Big Departure is an experimental French film and the sole directorial effort by renowned painter and sculptor Martial Raysse. Shot in negative exposure that inverts all color values, the film abandons conventional narrative for improvised, dreamlike sequences. A figure in a cat mask steals a car and encounters a young girl, promising to drive her to "Heaven"—which materializes as a remote country chateau populated by other masked, animal-headed characters. The film's surreal aesthetic and rejection of plot reflect the avant-garde spirit of its era, creating a hallucinatory journey through an inverted visual world. Raysse's singular vision transforms the medium into an extension of his visual art practice, prioritizing atmosphere and image over story.