10 Characters I Love

by Kimberly Lindbergs | April 10, 2009

Categories | Rants & Raves, Actors, Actresses, Terence Stamp, Klaus Kinski, Pierre Clementi

The task: Make a list of 10 of your favorite film characters. As much as I tend to dislike these blog memes, I couldn’t say no to The Agitation of the Mind, Coosa Creak Cinema and Bubblegum Aesthetics so I finally took the plunge and decided to participate. Like any self-respecting film enthusiast I have hundreds of favorite film characters, but here’s a short list of 10. I decided not to comment on my selections so I’ll leave it up to my readers to figure out the why’s and what for behind each of my choices.

1. Freddie Clegg as played by Terence Stamp
The Collector (William Wyler; 1965)

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The U.S. Premiere of Les Idoles (1968)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | November 16, 2008

Categories | Movie Reviews, News, French Cinema, Musicals, 1968, Pierre Clementi, yé-yé

If you live in New York or will be visiting the area on November 25th, you won’t want to miss the U.S. Premiere of the French pop musical spectacular, Les Idoles (1968). New York’s Film Society at Lincoln Center will be showing the film November 25th and following the film you can attend a fabulous yé-yé afterparty where DJs J Tripp, Melody Nelson, and the Film Society’s own Gabriele Caroti will spin French psychedelic ’60s pop.

For more information about Les Idoles and it’s upcoming U.S. Premiere please visit the official site for the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Les Idoles was based on a popular stage play performed by the Center for Theater & Experimentation on Actor Performance founded by Marc’O (aka Marc-Gilbert Guillaumin) who also directed the film version of Les Idoles in 1968. The film’s stars were all originally members of Marc’O’s avant-garde theater group and in many ways Les Idoles was an accumulation of the work they did together on stage. This psychedelic musical satire serves as both a critique and inadvertently a celebration of French pop music and yé-yé culture in the sixties, which seemed to fuel the revolutionary spirit in French youth while also offering up easy escapism. Les Idoles apparently received a warm reception in France when it debuted in 1968, but for one reason or another the movie was never released in the United States.

The film centers around the rise and fall of three pop stars who sing and dance their way through Les Idoles. Pierre Clémenti plays the unruly and rebellious Charly “the Knife” le Surineur who is supposedly based on the real French pop idol Johnny Hallyday and the lovely Bulle Ogier plays the kooky, sweet and naive Gigi “the Mad” la Folle who seems to be a combination of two popular yé-yé girls; Sylvie Vartan and France Gall. And finally there is Jean-Pierre Kalfon as the singer with psychic powers known as Simon “the Magician” le Magicien. Although the quality of the musical numbers in Les Idoles varies, the three leading actors give some of their most energetic and sensational performances in this uncompromising musical.

I first discovered Les Idoles during a trip to Tokyo in late 2005. The film had just been released there and many of the music shops I visited displayed large advertising posters for Les Idoles DVDs, as well as CDs, books and other yé-yé related promotional materials. The Japanese seem to love French pop music from the sixties and it heavily influenced the Shibuya-kei scene made popular by great Japanese bands like Pizzicato Five so it’s not too surprising that Les Idoles would find an enthusiastic audience in the “Land of the Rising Sun.” Thanks to the upcoming U.S. premiere of the film, American audiences will now get the opportunity to enjoy Les Idoles as well.

I’ve never had the opportunity to see Les Idoles with English subtitles myself and since I don’t speak French it’s impossible for me to really write a thorough and detailed review of this imaginative film. I can tell you that the film has a distinct visual vocabulary and a wonderful sound that appeals to my senses and reaches well beyond any language barriers. If I do get the opportunity to see a subtitled version of Les Idoles in the future there’s a high probability that it will become one of my favorite films of 1968.

Besides the creative direction from Marc’O and the talented cast of actors who perform some great songs in the movie, Les Idoles also features some truly incredible set designs and striking interiors by Laurent Gire as well as stylish period costumes created by Jean Bouquin. All of this combines to make Les Idoles easily one of the most interesting and eye-catching musicals made in France during the sixties.

I’ve previously mentioned how much I admire and adore the actor turned filmmaker Pierre Clémenti, but his show-stopping performance as Charly “the Knife” le Surineur is truly one of his greatest roles. Clémenti was always ahead of his time and he brings an edgy youthfulness and bold abandon to the character of Charly “the Knife” that’s reminiscent of great iconic music artists from the late ’60s and early ’70s such as Jim Morrison and Iggy Pop. The lean pale figure clad in black leather that prowls the sets of Les Idoles could have easily given up acting to become one of the pop idols he mimics and that’s what makes his performance so compelling and dynamic. Clémenti is the picture perfect protopunk with the soul of a decadent 19th century French poet.

If you’re interested in experimental French film or just enjoy colorful French musicals from the sixties, then Les Idoles is definitely worth a look. Hopefully the U.S. premiere of the film will lead to a subtitled DVD release in the states so those of us who can’t make it to New York on November 25th will be able to enjoy this extraordinary film in the future.

If you’d like to see more images from the film you’ll find them in my Les Idoles Flickr Gallery.

Some recommended links:
- REVOLT INTO STYLE: Les Idoles. Sam Di Iorio’s insightful article about Les Idoles for Film Comment.
- Yé-Yé Land. A great site with lots of info about French pop music created by my pal April.
- Ode to Marcel. My previous tribute to Pierre Clémenti celebrating his role in Belle de Jour.

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12 Films I Must See

by Kimberly Lindbergs | September 17, 2008

Categories | Rants & Raves, Alain Delon, Pupi Avati, Terence Stamp, Jean-Luc Godard, Freddie Francis, Pierre Clementi, Marianne Faithfull

I’ve mentioned before how much I dislike blog memes. I find most of them really dull and pointless, but occasionally I get asked to participate in one that sparks my interest. The following 12 Films I Must See meme was forwarded my way by Dennis at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule and it’s a doozy. The point of the meme is to list 12 movies that you’ve never seen before and are difficult to find on video or DVD.

In other words, if you can get it at Netflix or your local Blockbuster, don’t bother mentioning it. But Dennis made up his own rules and included some films that are easy to find but he had just never got around to viewing them so the meme is obviously open to interpretation. I decided to follow the original rules only because there are lots of films I’d like to see made more accessible to American audiences and doing this meme gave me the opportunity to mention a few of them. This list could have been much longer but I decided to just list the first 12 that came into my head in no particular order. And the 12 films are . . .

Shinjuku dorobo nikki (1968) and L’ Insoumis (1964)

1. Shinjuku dorobo nikki (Nagisa Oshima; 1968) aka Diary of a Shinjuku Thief
I’ve only seen a few of Nagisa Oshima’s films (Cruel Story of Youth, In the Realm of the Senses, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence and Gohatto) but they all left a big impression on me and I really want to see more of his work. Diary of a Shinjuku Thief is the one Nagisa Oshima film I’d like to see above all others. I believe bootleg copies of the film are floating around online and the movie is occasionally revived and shown at theaters but so far it has managed to evade me.

2. L’ Insoumis (Alain Cavalier; 1964) aka Have I the Right to Kill?
TCM recently dusted off what seems to be the only print of this hard-to-find thriller and showed it once back in April. Unfortunately I missed it and I don’t know when I’ll have the opportunity to see it again. The movie stars the magnificent Alain Delon who wields a gun and falls for the pretty Italian actress Lea Massari in the film. L’ Insoumis is often referred to as one of Delon’s “best movies” so I can’t understand why it’s so hard to see. Hopefully someone will release it on DVD soon or TCM will do us all a favor and show it again.

Top: Terence Stamp in Una Stagione all’inferno (1970)
Bottom: Angela Pleasence in Symptoms (1974)

3. Una Stagione all’inferno (Nelo Risi; 1970) aka A Season in Hell
Terence Stamp stars as Rimbaud in this film about the poet’s life and Jean-Claude Brialy plays Paul Verlaine. Does anything else need to be said? How about this - the movie also stars the wonderful actress Florinda Bolkan and features a score by Maurice Jarre that’s easier to find than the actual movie. I’ve been trying to track down a copy of this film for years but I haven’t had any luck and it seems as if there’s virtually no information about the movie available anywhere.

4. Symptoms (José Ramón Larraz; 1974)
I’ve enjoyed all of the José Ramón Larraz’s films that I’ve seen but so far but his 1974 feature Symptoms has escaped me. The film stars Angela Pleasence (daughter of Donald Pleasence) who always seems extremely uncomfortable in her own skin and it’s often referred to as the directors best film. Unfortunately it’s not available on DVD but I hope some company will release the film in the future since I’m sure it would find an audience. In the meantime I’ll have to make due with a poor quality bootleg copy of the film if I want to see it.

Benjamin (1968) and Chelsea Girls (1966)

5. Benjamin (Michel Deville; 1968)
Catherine Deneuve and Pierre Clementi are two of the most beautiful creatures to appear in French films during the ’60s and I love watching them together in Luis Buñuel’s wonderful Belle de jour (1967) so I know I’d enjoy watching them together in this film. Benjamin claims to be a “French Tom Jones” and so I expect it will probably be a light-hearted French sex comedy. I haven’t come across much info about the movie but Roger Ebert awarded Benjamin with “the 1968 strawberry parfait award” and added that it would float off your fork ” before you can get your mouth open.” He also said that it would appeal to “empty-headed would-be sophisticates who want to attend a pretty French movie that doesn’t make them think, or depress them, or anything.” Sometimes I don’t want to think. Sometimes all I want to do is laugh and watch beautiful people like Catherine Deneuve and Pierre Clementi frolic on screen nude or dressed in lovely period costumes, so I suspect that I’d find something worthwhile about Benjamin if I ever get the chance to see it.

6. Chelsea Girls (Andy Warhol & Paul Morrissey; 1966)
I’ve seen bits and pieces of Chelsea Girls but never the entire thing which is approximately 3 1/2 hours long. The film has become a curiosity piece over the years and it has never been officially released on DVD in the US as far as I know. There is an Italian DVD of the film available but I believe it’s currently out of print. Due to the film’s split-screen format I’d prefer to see it in a theater but in all honesty it’s lengthy running time has kept me away from screenings over the years. Hopefully I’ll get the opportunity - and the patience - to see the film in its entirety sometime.

Le Moine (1972) and Balsamus l’uomo di Satana (1970)

7. Le Moine (Adonis Kyrou; 1972) aka The Monk
Le Moine is based on the the classic Matthew Lewis novel “The Monk” and stars the handsome and charismatic actor Franco Nero along with the beautiful Natalie Delon. The film also features a script by Luis Buñuel, cinematography by Sacha Vierny and a score by Ennio Morricone & Piero Piccioni. How could this film be anything but great? Le Moine is available on Region-2 DVD but I haven’t had a chance to see it yet. Hopefully that will change soon.

8. Balsamus l’uomo di Satana (Pupi Avati’; 1970) aka Blood Relations
I’ve mentioned before that I’d love to see more of Pupi Avati’s early horror films and Balsamus l’uomo di Satana is at the top of my “must see” list. The tagline for the film is a “Grotesque ‘Bordello’ of Nightmares!” and that’s got me more than a little intrigued. Unfortunately as far as I know Balsamus l’uomo di Satana has never been released on DVD or video and it seems impossible to find. Avati’s latest films continually get rave reviews from critics and win plenty of awards so why aren’t more of his older films available on DVD? I can only hope that the director’s early work will become more accessible in the future.

Top: Made in USA (1966)
Bottom: The Psycopath (1968)

9. Made in USA (Jean-Luc Godard; 1966)
Out of all the Godard films I haven’t had the opportunity to view yet Made in USA is at the top of the list. The complicated plot intrigues me. The cast (which includes Anna Karina, Jean-Pierre Léaud, László Szabó and Marianne Faithfull) is tops and the clips and still shots that I’ve seen look absolutely breathtaking. The film is currently available on DVD in the UK as part of the Region-2 Jean-Luc Godard Collection Vol.1 but I haven’t had any interest in buying the entire set just to see that film since I already own copies of all the other Godard films in the collection.

10. The Psychopath (Freddie Francis; 1968)
The Psycopath is one of the few Freddie Francis‘ films that I haven’t had the chance to see yet because it’s so hard to find. I love all the British thrillers and horror films that Francis made and I’m fond of Amicus films in general. I just know that I’m going to enjoy this movie once I get the chance to see it. Any horror film that involves creepy dolls is high on my “must see” list but when you add Freddie Francis’ name to the mix along with Amicus, well I don’t think I need to say much more.

Tantei jimusho 23: Kutabare akuto-domo (1963) and Das Indische Tuch (1963)

11. Tantei jimusho 23: Kutabare akuto-domo (Seijun Suzuki; 1963) aka Detective Bureau 23: Go to Hell Bastards
This is the first crime film that director Seijun Suzuki made with Joe Shishido and the only film they made together that I haven’t had the pleasure to see. From all the accounts I’ve read it appears to be a predecessor to one of my favorite Suzuki films, the amazing Youth of the Beast. It was written by Haruhiko Oyabu who also wrote Youth of the Beast and Shishido plays the role of Joji ‘Jo’ Mizuno again. Many of the actors who appeared in Youth of the Beast also have roles in Tantei jimusho 23: Kutabare akuto-domo. As far as I know, the film is not available on DVD anywhere but I really hope Criterion will consider releasing it in the future since I think the film would obviously appeal to anyone who has enjoyed Criterion’s previous Suzuki/Shishido DVD releases.

12. Das Indische Tuch (Alfred Vohrer; 1963) aka The Indian Scarf
There are plenty of German Krimi films featuring the incredible Klaus Kinski that I could have included on this list but I just decided on this one because I love the poster art so much. Many of my regular readers know that Kinski is one of my favorite actors and I’ve seen a lot of his films, which is saying something since the man appeared in hundreds of movies (what it’s saying I’m not exactly sure, except maybe that I spend too much time watching movies?) . The real black spot in my Kinski viewing is all the krimi films he made in the ’60s since I’ve only had the oportunity to see 3 or 4 so far and there must be at least 20 more that I’d like to see. I absolutely love the krimi films I have managed to see and I’m fascinated with the work of Edgar Wallace. Many of these films are available on DVD in Germany but I haven’t had the extra funds to purchase them yet. I keep hoping that many if them will be released in a DVD boxset in the US but that looks more and more unlikely as the years roll by. Hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to see all the Kinski krimi films sooner or later.

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Ode to Marcel

by Kimberly Lindbergs | September 28, 2007

Categories | Actors, French Cinema, Blogathons, Spanish Cinema, Pierre Clementi, Luis Bunuel

Pierre Clementi in Belle de Jour (1967)

“He had a legend, the aura of genius, a friend to the mysterious and the strange. I arrived full of holy terror and mad hope all at the same time. I was struck immediately by one thing, only one: he’s a man of whom you only see the face. The fabulous mouth, worked by life, heavily wrinkled skin, the driven eyes, but in their black ring, a sparkling light. I was incapable of saying a word, I don’t even remember if it was a production office, an apartment, a hotel room. I looked at the deep earth of his face, the clear water of his regard. They told me ‘Speak loudly, we don’t know if he’s deaf or if he pretends to be . . .’ But how to speak? I repeated to myself ‘Come on. You have to speak.’ I thought that my silence and my insistence on staring would become intolerable. Someone else would surely have addressed me, would have started to speak, if only to reduce the tension a little. He was content to just look at me. Simply, directly, as if we had met there for a mutual exam and that words weren’t necessary. A guy walked in, perhaps an assistant, I can’t remember. Buñuel turned towards me. ‘This is Clémenti. Show him the script.’ If I understood properly, I had just been hired for Belle de Jour…With no other director did I have such a feeling of confidence.”
- Pierre Clémenti on Luis Buñuel and his role in Belle de Jour from his book Quelques Messages Personnels

My favorite character in Louis Buñuel’s Belle de Jour is Pierre Clémenti’s wonderful turn as the sexy thug Marcel. Pierre Clémenti was a beautiful and talented actor who appeared in many great films before his untimely death in 1999 including The Leopard (1963), Benjamin (1968), Les Idoles (1968), Partner (1968), The Conformist (1970), Sweet Movie (1974), La Cicatrice intérieure (1972) , Steppenwolf (1974), Quartet (1981) and Belle de Jour (1967).

I haven’t written anything substantial about Pierre Clémenti yet, so I thought I’d take the opportunity provided by Flickhead’s Buñuel Blog-a-thon to post a photographic tribute to Pierre Clémenti’s character Marcel in Belle de Jour, which was haphazardly put together from various screen shots I recently took from the film.

To view more screen shots from Luis Buñuel’s film please see my Flickr Belle De Jour Gallery.

Recommended Links and References:
- The Passion of Pierre Clémenti: European cinema’s christ-devil child
- Pierre Clémenti at Paris dans les années 70 (French language fan site)
- Pierre Clémenti - Acteur réalisateur (French language fan site)

My Buñuel Blog-a-thon Contributions:
- What’s in the Box?
- Ode to Marcel
- The Fine Art of Fashion: Yves Saint-Laurent

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