Do yourself a favor this evening or next and head over to Pacific Cinematheque’s theatre at 1131 Howe Street in Vancouver. Treat yourself to a large popcorn and settle in for 193 minutes of movie magic as Jacque Rivette’s 1974 masterpiece Celine and Julie Go Boating begins at 7:30 sharp. It’s a perfect way to spend a rainy evening.

Celine and Julie is an impossible film to adequately describe, and it’s probably best if you go in completely innocent of expectations; in which case: stop reading now. The Cinematheque’s program takes a stab, calling it “an elaborate, fantastical mélange of Lewis Carroll, Henry James, Cocteau, cartoons, Kafka, Hitchcock, Borges, and Vincente Minnelli.” Perhaps. I just know that it completely enchanted me the first time I saw it, at the old Cinematheque theatre on Georgia near the (old) Vancouver Art Gallery; almost thirty years ago, I’d guess. It was like no other movie I’d ever seen before.

One reason that I still hold the film in such high esteem is its rarity: memory has a lovely way of adding lustre to our favorite things. I’ve only managed to see Celine and Julie once more since that initial viewing, and even though it seems like every art house movie ever made is out on DVD, fans of Rivette’s film have had to bide their time. New Yorker Films — no relation to the magazine — released Celine and Julie on tape an age ago, but if they’re planning a DVD release, they’re taking their sweet time about it; personally I’d like to see Criterion add it to their collection, but it’s probably more complicated than it seems.

One glimmer of hope: the British Film Institute released a lovely two-disk Region 2 DVD of Celine and Julie Go Boating late last year. And you can order it through the BFI website, but be warned: you’ll need a multi-region player, one which can handle video in the European (PAL) format.