Le Joli mai

beautifully shot street scenes and time-lapse, comes off a bit preachy at some points though, even if he means well. some interviews are very insightful, others just show how little people have changed in 50 years. very interesting conversation about automation though.

The film's interviews on capital, class, and convictions still resonates. It's thesis: in a post-war World, where external conflict is no longer viable (or in vogue), we must instead be governed by self-inflicted prisons. The sequences really hit home, particularly a tire mechanic painting in oils, and a discussion on obsolescence violently punctuated by funny cat videos. I guess some things remain prescient.

may'62 in paris as a microcosm of modernisation, from economic development of parisian poorhouses to political development of algerian nationality. promises of better worlds are hung like cherries above our heads, but these worlds turn out to be new presents in which more future worlds are promised. may'62 portends may'68 portends another; a passage of permanent uncertainty. the use of time lapse near the end is heavily reminiscent of KOYAANISQATSI, with which this is thematically related.

This is simply poetry on film. Marker succeeds in creating a film which hundreds of filmmakers failed to make. And also it is a first film. Oh my.