As the Cannes Film Festival rages on, I thought I'd write about a movie that made the official selection last year and was released in the UK a couple of months ago and just about now in the US : Water Lilies by Céline Sciamma. I'll leave it to Steven Jenkins to leave it to the French:
"Leave it to the French to eschew the clichés of American “coming of age” dramedies, preferring instead to chart their tweens’ trials and triumphs through uniquely Gallic “age of possibilities” films, highlighted by such disparate studies as François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows, Catherine Breillat’s Fat Girl and Pascale Ferran’s genre-defining The Age of Possibilities. To this list we must add Céline Sciamma’s astonishingly assured first feature, focusing on three schoolgirls of varying experience and élan who explore the alternately liberating and perilous possibilities inherent to their youth, burgeoning sexuality and fascination with synchronized swimming. Imagine a pubescent Esther Williams shipped overseas to a public school in the suburbs outside Paris, and you’ll have some idea of the alluring blend of teenage athleticism and ennui embodied by Marie (preternaturally perceptive lovestruck loner), Anne (zaftig party-crashing eccentric) and Floriane (sultry swim team tease), the titular water lilies who dive deep into the chilly waters of adolescence with only nose plugs, training bras and each other’s kisses and confessions for protection." —Stolen from the San Francisco International Film Festival
It's a splendid movie, fully realized by its soundtrack, produced by Para One.
Download: Para One - Finale
We went to Coachella, "We" being Curses!, Surkin, Para One, Orgasmic and I ; "Coachella" being the biggest music festival on Earth. And when I say "big", I mean Kraftwerk, I mean PRINCE in the middle of the desert under a pyramid of light beams.
We opened on Saturday and Sunday, and the asides weren't bad either, what with Surkin shutting down the Anthem/Levi's pool party after playing ten minutes in full-on megamix mode (neighbor called mayor, mayor sent squads).
I didn't feel like writing the misty, starry-eyed account the event deserved because 1. others are way better at this than I am and 2. are we not egotistical bastards with no sense of hierarchy?
So, in lieu of apology, I'd rather talk about the North American tour the aforementioned Curses!, Surkin, Para One, Orgasmic did back in September. Three weeks on the road, thirteen cities, one camera, Jean-Baptiste de Laubier (aka Para One) filming constantly. The result is a proper film, a road movie of sorts .
It's called One More Song and here is episode one, with English subtitles (French subs are HERE) so you can enjoy the high-spirited banter. Forthcoming installments will follow the crew (and more) in Japan, Paris and all over Europe.
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We like feeling good. It’s kind of the whole point of this web site: why hate on people’s style when it’s so much more fun talking about things you like? Which brings us to the topic at hand—Young @ Heart—which is bound to be the feel-good movie of the year. Stephan Walker’s new documentary follows the Young @ Heart Chorus, a motley gang of retires ages 70+, who sing a variety of songs from Sonic Youth to the Clash. What could possibly be cuter? We wonder if they take requests… Head over to the SEEN RCRD LBL blog for more info and trailer.
Young @ Heart at the SEEN RCRD LBL blog
