I figured I should post this music video that I discovered about a month ago while working on data for this year’s Annecy =D
Set to French composer Arnold Turboust’s Lettres de Krakovie, it’s a stunning animation done by French collective Clavel, formed by Antoine Dahan, Clément Delaby and Rayan Takhedmit; who did this equally gorgeous short for Annecy 2023.
From what I could find, it doesn’t seem to be a single from any current Arnold Turboust album, though it might be the first single of a yet-to-be announced one.
Music by Arnold Turboust Music video directed by Antoine Dahan, Clement Delaby, Rayan Takhedmit Produced by : Les Monstres (Nicolas Mongin, Hélène Orjebin)
Storyboard : Rayan Takhedmit Concept Art : Antoine Dahan, Clement Delaby, Rayan Takhedmit Character design : Antoine Dahan Layout Posing : Antoine Dahan, Clement Delaby, Étienne Faivre Layout Background : Rayan Rayan Takhedmit Colorscript and Layout painting : Clement Delaby Animation : Antoine Dahan, Sixtine Dano, Clément Delaby, Étienne Faivre, Camille Lherminier, Juliette Navarro, Chloé Niquet, Pierre Rougemont, Rayan Takhedmit, Nicolas Verdier Clean / Colo : Sam Bellanger, Amy Calohard, Antoine Dahan, Chloé Niquet, Rayan Takhedmit Compositing / Edit : Clément Delaby, Rayan Takhedmit
Lyrics : Edith Fambuena Music PRoducer : Nicolas Borne Music mastering : Louis Mc Guire Publishing : Adelaide Pop Music
Gomen, gomen. I skipped two months of random blogging this time around. I did, however, write my late 2024 Peruvian box office wrap-up, published in late February. And I did a small write up by the end of March about Malayalam cinema that is yet to be publish in case Jude Anthany Joseph’s 2018 is released locally this week. Just in case.
I have also picked up French once again! Officially since mid-January ;D Thanks to Nelly of Français avec Nelly. Everyday French (and slang, especially online slang) has improved, formal usage (has returned), but writing refuses to go back to levels (^=^!) to when I was a formal student and could actually write. It takes me ages to actually write, so it takes triple the ages to get something out in French.
Anyway- in one of the most recent videos where Nelly answers some subs questions, user tomas_valiunas asks about a website where you could watch French films for free, which is -of course- my expertise. I may not focus on writing about French films and festival films, because there are hundreds of others who do, but I do watch a number of French films and co-productions. And even though the French, and Europeans (and first worlders) in particular, are very finnicky about geo-restrictions and copyright, there are ways.
And the first and most obvious legal answer is TV5 Monde Plus.
I still have cable, so I don’t know how people who don’t have cable are supposed to find out about the TV5 Monde app for download or that they have a streaming website. Of course, there are a number of shows (broadcast on TV5 Monde) available to stream for free on YouTube like Echappées Belles or Des Racines et des Ailes.
They let you browse without an account, but you have to create one to actually watch the shows and films, otherwise you hit ‘play’ and just get the TV5 Monde logo and a ‘sad face’ lol
According to current (Mar 4th 2025) FAQ, opening an account and accessing the programs in the platform is free.
Right now they’re offering a bunch of Brigitte Bardot films like Boulevard du Rhum, Viva Maria!, La Bride Sur Le Cou, L’histoire très bonne et très joyeuse de Colinot Trousse-Chemise and En effeuillant la marguerite. Other classics like Peau d’âne by Jacques Demy, Jean Eustache’s La Maman et la Putain, and Truffaut’s Les Quatre Cents Coups are also available. And that rare Marlene Dietrich French film, Martin Roumagnac is also available.
Some of their co-productions are available, like Papicha by Mounia Meddour and Noces by Stephan Streker. However, considering the vast recent production of French animated films, I was a little underwhelmed from the selection of animation available; though Alain Ughetto’s Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens, Florence Miailhe’s La Traversée and Une Vie de Chat by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol are available as well.
But my favorite discovery available is Adrien Beau’s Le Vourdalak [Trailer] which I had been looking forward to watching. Sadly, it’s the only film labeled a fantasy. ^^’
Subtitles seem to vary, most (if not all) content seems subbed in English and French, there are also options for German (?), Arabic, Romanian and Spanish, though these two vary depending on the film you’re watching.
So I thought you should all know, even though no one reads blogs any longer, maybe someone will find this information on the vast nothingness of modern-day internet.
A while back I was able to catch a viewing of Tom Volf’s Maria by Callas documentary, which I adored. Some time last year (near my birthday?), I got to catch a special screening of Callas – Paris, 1958, which we got to see alongside a very very very tiny group of people ^^’
And, of course, I made sure to watch Pablo Larrain’s Maria before the year was over, because why not.
It’s the perfect Maria Callas triple feature-
The divine diva of Callas – Paris, 1958
Maria seen through the eyes of Callas in Maria by Callas
The human being in Maria.
My absolute favorite sequence in Larrain’s depiction is probably the whole segment at JFK’s birthday party. Though Maria’s scene with her sister is devastating.
Buying physical media has been a chore lately, you gotta keep an eye out so you make sure you don’t miss your delivery because, for some reason, people cannot just leave your package any longer.
Plus, distributors are doing physical media less and less. The whole of the Indian Cinema industry has decided to phase out physical media in favor of going all in on OTT and VOD. Even enormous hits like RRR are left with no physical release, even in the West. Even Disney is letting Sony handle its physical media, which seems like the end of an era. Then there’s the whole thing about editing and disappearing media from libraries.
So these are some of the most recent -and not so recent- films that have been added to the physical library. I wish I had more disposable income because there are a bunch of titles (and upgrades) that had been added to the wishlist.
These on top of some Bluray upgrades like Sion Sono’s Love Exposure, Kalatozov’s The Cranes Are Flying, brand new Criterion’s for Los Otros and Laberinto del Fauno. Some random BR UK release for Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
Also, this post makes it so that this year is the most I’ve blogged since 2020. I’m coming for you 2019. Four posts in Feb’24 is the most continuous blogging since Aug’18.
My most awaited Letterboxd e-mail came yesterday with my 2019 movie-data. Though my writing input has definitely not improved, cutting down on Mamamoo stuff has increased my movie watching habits, for sure.
Compared to 2018, I logged 480 films (though over 50 or even many more could be short films), which represents a 23% increase. In terms of hours, there was an increment of over 100hrs or 16%. This increase still doesn’t match my 2015 levels, when I reached 530 logged films (9.5% short) or clocked 959hrs (14% short)… but it’s getting there. I am still at 2017 New-To-Me level of movies, though.
My most-watched actor was Glenn Close because I went on a marathon of her movies because I really thought that she could win the Oscar, not that I wasn’t pleasantly surprised to see Olivia Colman win for The Favourite. And Francois Ozon was my most-watched director because MUBI programmed many of his films, including Les Amants Criminels, Water Drops on Burning Rocks, Young & Beautiful, and L’Amant Double.
And as my writing output has been so poor, I haven’t written any End of the Year (or Decade) posts. Gomen.
Wow~ it’s been AGES since I’ve done one of these [1][2][3]. Most likely since The Academy decided to change their one-page printable ballot into a two-page one. But~~~ I feel this is my best watching year in a long time xD
I forgot to share this! Gobelins is always great for student animation, it seems the shorts they’re posting on YouTube will be feature at the current Annecy Film Fest~ including this fantastic short by Fabien Corre, Sixtine Dano, Thibault Leclercq, Katie Sung Lee, Valentin Lucas, and Andrei Sitari.
It’s gorgeously animated when a bar fights strikes involving a bunch of artists in 1910, Montmartre.
