Jason's Blog, page 189

Minicomic

Silkscreened cover and a strip that's never been collected anywhere else, from a minicomic made during a signing tour in the US, 2003.

Illustration...

...done for a fairytale, late 90s.

Le Feu Follet

Maurice Ronet is an unhappy, recovering alcoholic leaving his rehab to see old friends in Paris. Also starring Jeanne Moreau in a small part. The English title is The Fire Within.

It's a French film allright! The alienation of the bourgeouisie... Again Malles's camera is simply observing what is happening, never intruding. We follow Ronet around in bars, cafés and finally an evening party, there are lots of philosophical conversations and chic parisiennes. The film looks great in black and white, and Ronet is good in the main part, but in the end I got a bit bored. Who are these people? Why should I care about them? It reminded me of that Monty Python sketch where they make fun of Godard and made me long for a film with Jean-Paul Belmondo and a barfight.

Next: Les Amants

Sketches...

...for the cover of the next book.

D.V. in a videoshop.

Louis Malle

I've been curious about Louis Malle, only knowing his American films, so I got the collection of his early French films, and will start watching those. First up: Lift To The Scaffolds. Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet are the lovers whose plan it is to kill her husband and make it look like a suicide. So far everything works out, but then fate steps in. Also starring Lino Ventura as a policeman, music by Miles Davis.

The film reminded me of the Coen brothers, the way that nothing goes as planned and the characters constantly being tripped up. Malle films the story in a nonchalant style. He doesn't really seem that interested in the plot. Instead we get a long sequence of Moreau walking around in Paris, in the rain, looking for Ronet and having a very French and poetic voiceover. The film has almost a dreamlike quality. Ronet climbs up a building in broad daylight, easily visible from the street, but is seen by no one. After the killing he then forgets to bring the rope with him, starting the whole chain of reactions. It's a bit hard to believe, but in a dream it would make perfect sense. The two main characters never curse the Gods for what is happening, instead calmly accepting the way their well laid plans fall to pieces, ending the film just as it begun with a close up of Moreau's face.

Next: Le Feu Follet

A-ha

A drawing made for a Norwegian music magazine, a review of A-ha's album Stay on These Roads.

Chapterpage drawing...

...from Mitt Liv Som Zombie, the Norwegian version of Pocket Full of Rain. Originally it was in black and white, this is my first attempt at colourization in photoshop.

Atlantic City

Burt Lancaster is an old nobody from the glory days of Atlantic City that finally gets to be a hero. Also starring Susan Sarandon, directed by Louis Malle.

This is very much a European vision of America. Just like Barfly by Barbet Schroeder it's more interested in the backside of the American Dream. It's a great role for Lancaster. In a small part we also see Wally Shawn from Malle's My Dinner With André. This is the last Lancaster film for now, but I hope to find some more. I'd like to see the other films he did with Frankenheimer and also Elmer Gantry that he won his Oscar for.

The Train

August, 44. The Allies are approaching Paris. A German Colonel collects the best of French art to have it sent to Germany on a train. It's up to stationmaster Burt Lancaster and the French resistance to stop it. Also starring Paul Scofield and Jeanne Moreau, directed by John Frankenheimer.

It's another great Lancaster/Frankenheimer film, again based on real events. There's the usual problem with English language films from World War II - a strange mix of accents or lack thereof. Some of the dialogue by the French actors are clearly dubbed. Lancaster himself plays a Frenchman, and with a handrolled cigarette in the side of his mouth he actually looks a bit Jean Gabin-ish. It's easier to believe in him as a Frenchman than in Tom Cruise as a German in Valkyrie. The film is shot in gorgeous black and white. It asks an interesting question: How many lives is a painting worth?