In an age where cinephiles are now open to experiences from every little corner of the globe, something about French cinema will always remain a cornerstone of fascination. At the vibrant Cinefamily repertory house near Hollywood, Kalyane Lévy brings audiences into the illusions of the French going experience with her monthly program La Collectionneuse. Kalyane sat down with Peter to discusses her childhood filled with art in France and her migration to Los Angeles. She opens up about the challenges of a programmer of international cinema as well as the rewards of audiences excited about works of esoteric love (as well as the unique atmosphere of the screenings). Finally, the two dissect a very off beat film, Going Places by Bertrand Blier starring Gérard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere as a couple of horrifying horndogs terrifying the women of France...or perhaps they are actually opening up their desires?
3:53-8:57 Establishing Shots — De Palma
9:42-32:31 Deep Focus — Kalyane Lévy
57:42-59:40 Close / Outtake
Notes and Links from the Conversation
—More on De Palma from Vadim Rizov
—Seeing Alexander Calder perform "Circus" at the Whitney Museum
—More about the town of La Provence
—Arte TV
—Eric Rohmer's La Collectionneuse
—Blood of a Poet screening
—Shetain screening
—DOSSHAUS
—The French Film & TV Office
—Diplomatic Poericuch
—Janus Films
—I Always Wanted to be a Gangster (2007)
—Acropolis Cinema
—Anna Karina at Cinefamily
—Kalyane's Celine and Julie artwork
—Carrie Rickey on Going Places
—Jean Renoir's Boudu Saved from Drowning
—Roger Ebert's scathing review of Going Places
—Pauline Kael's review of Going Places appears in her collection When the Lights Go Down. An excerpt is available here.
—More on De Palma from Vadim Rizov
—Seeing Alexander Calder perform "Circus" at the Whitney Museum
—More about the town of La Provence
—Arte TV
—Eric Rohmer's La Collectionneuse
—Blood of a Poet screening
—Shetain screening
—DOSSHAUS
—The French Film & TV Office
—Diplomatic Poericuch
—Janus Films
—I Always Wanted to be a Gangster (2007)
—Acropolis Cinema
—Anna Karina at Cinefamily
—Kalyane's Celine and Julie artwork
—Carrie Rickey on Going Places
—Jean Renoir's Boudu Saved from Drowning
—Roger Ebert's scathing review of Going Places
—Pauline Kael's review of Going Places appears in her collection When the Lights Go Down. An excerpt is available here.
Theme Music: “Forward” by Northbound
funny, i just watched rohmer's La Collectionneuse and then set that aside for 2 days, letting it seep in (more because I was trying desperately to recall where I saw the main guy, Patrick bauchau, before (or after I should say, because the only image I could jog up was one of him driving in a convertible (and at least a few decades older than he was in rohmer's flick) with a woman hunched over between the 2 front seats looking around for something to catch her attention... she looked like she wanted to be excited and he wanted to help her find that excitement)). Then I watched Welcome to NY for the 10th time this year because abel ferrara is my favorite director and that had me going through gerard's filmography because I realized that that flick wouldnt have half the potency it did if it wasnt for him (im sorry abel, but it's true...youre still king of kings though)... Going Places was one i just happened to click on that caught my attention (after a few that didn't intrigue me), especially after reading roger ebert's strangely moralistic finger wagging review. Then I woke up this morning and boom! it hit me instantly... i realized where I saw patrick bauchau before: he was victor, mimi roger's older but very distinguished swinging partner in The Rapture by one of my favorite interviewees on bret easton ellis' podcast: Michael Tolkin (also wrote gleaming the cube and the player(!!)). and then i started on your podcast on the texas chainsaw massacre episode and worked backward til i got to Going Places. And what does the woman who expounds about it call her monthly program. Yeah, you got it, time machines. I think a lot about this kind of stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for translation: that is such a let down. I figure she is right (you're guest who said the translation wasn't up to snuff). I've shown several spanish/latin american flicks that I enjoy to friends and they dont have the same experience i do and i realize it's cuz the translation is for shit... and something just gets lost. A turn of phrase will be translated literally rather than using a similar expression that gets at the intent of the writing rather than the literal interpretation. Either way, from what I did get...i found the movie hilarious. Especially when theyre taking turns on the "cold fish" character and gerard is going at it from behind while the other watches her up close (are her eyes closed? no. Is she biting her lip? no. Sweating under the arms? no no. Shit. I give up). Just the way that 2nd guy watches her like theyre conducting some lab experiment, i was cracking up.
ReplyDeleteanyhow, this was a really interesting podcast and i liked the take you both had of the movie. i agree, it's like a rabelaisian revelry/male fantasy turned on its head.