You Won't Come Out Alive of 'Only Lovers Left Alive' (2014)

A good ol' glass of Absinth, curtains shut, a quiet dark music – and you're all set to go to sleep. This is a good summary of Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, a slow vampire movie starring Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston. Although it does have some laudable aspects – thankfully – still, it is not lying saying that it does not leave you with a feeling of satisfaction.

At the beginning, we get to know gradually that Adam and Eve are a married couple of two vampires, him being an anonymous underground musician. As any self-respecting vampire, they're a thousand years old. Throughout the movie we see them keep a secret life, relate about old times, procure pure blood to survive without killing, and deal with family issues, all amidst old furniture and dark settings.

The soundtrack of the movie was indeed excellent, showing well the characters' state of continuous inner conflict; and the casting was very well done, the leading actors being indeed perfect for this old-fashion English vampire style. But as for the rest, the scenario was very flat and the pace was way too long: a good thirty minutes could have been cut so as to make it less... sleepy.

These shaggy-haired vampires (it is apparently a style inherent to their race), having lived a zillion years, happen also to have known personally every great name of any era, from Franz Schubert to Mary Wollstonecraft and others. They are even the source of the work of most of the greatest artists, when they are not the greatest names themselves – one vampire friend of the couple's being both Christopher Marlowe and Shakespeare (interpreted by great John Hurt).

Another irritating aspect – although interesting in itself, but handled badly in the scenario – is the way in which they show their deep and ancient knowledge of everything. Anecdotes they tell to each other involving the Inquisition or the plague are amusing, but their obsession of naming things by their Latin names just feels made up – especially when Eve (Tilda Swinton) keeps on addressing animals or plants by their Latin name. Dare I ask who on Earth, however centuries-old they may be, names everything they see? But maybe being a vampire is a synonym for “being high all the time”. After all, how should I know, I'm only a mortal.

 But after all this, here is maybe the highest critique I have to make about this movie: although it is long, although it lacks of a more exciting scenario, it could still have brought out something, like a serious reflexion on life for instance. But apart from some superficial comments here and there about water's extinction and how Man can be stupid at times – nothing new under the sun – it does not show us this critical part, and does not stir anything in us.

Thus this movie just comes down to a small bunch of withdrawn vampires right out from one of the Kooples' ads, surviving in our century and basically dealing with everyday (or more accurately everynight) life. All of this in slow motion. For sure, for those out there who don't like the rush of modern life and don't like movies with interesting stories to tell, this movie will be a breath of fresh air. On the contrary, for the others: don't hold your breath, because it lasts a while.

This article was written for this blog only.

Three Men Talking About Things They Kinda Know About

Three Men Talking About Things They Kinda Know About

Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris

21 February 2014

Talking about one's sensitive past is not easy doing, but somehow the three talented actors of this play pulled it off poetically and with humor. Stephen James Smith, Kalle Ryan and Colm Keegan offered an insightful and penetrating moment with their play, that they've been performing for three years now.

A simple setting of photographs surrounding them, the three men shared their past lives and family issues with a different kind of acting very specific to each one. While Stephen slammed his parts, sharing his difficult relationship with his father after he has seen him cheat on his mother and then leaving her, Colm talked with his strong and melodious Irish accent about the difficulty to have a child young, and Kalle with his more soft-spoken Americanized language related his overcoming of the pain of losing both parents. He may have been the most communicative emotionally speaking.

 

The actors happily answered to all of the questions asked by the public, and talked about how they had made up this play in the kitchen of one of them. They have come a long way since then, and on that matter their play might be adapted on a US stage with different actors, something they would be interested to see from an outside eye. They also shared their fear of not being understood by a French public, but were relieved when the first peals of laughter boomed out from the beginning.

During this 20-minute Q&A, the actors also emphasized how this was not a therapy-play: although these are all true personal stories, these issues have been resolved by now. It is not a cry of pain waiting for an answer from the love of the public, but a sharing of personal stories that can resonate in people who might have gone through similar difficult episodes. As Kalle puts it: the more specific the story is, the more universal it becomes.

This article was written for this blog only.

St. Vincent - Live @ Canal+ Studio

Wednesday 19^th February 2014, Paris

Annie Clark alias St. Vincent is on tour for the release of her fourth album, St. Vincent, due to be released on the 24th of this month. Tonight’s a show for the French channel Canal+ before she hits the road to London; she will then be performing in Manchester and Dublin, before flying back to the US.

The NY-based musician and songwriter has already issued three albums, with which we have been able to get to know her diverse influences – folk, pop, rock, electro – making up her own trademark. In this Parisian show, it was especially the rock-electro aspect of her work that stood out, with a strong use of keyboard and electric guitar.

Annie, followed by her musicians, came on stage with shaggy white hair and a white and red dress – an Alice in Wonderland look broken down as soon as the music started. It’s with the robotic ‘Rattlesnake’  that the band opened the show, putting the mood for the rest of the performance.

Some songs offered a more “classical” Indie rock sound, like ‘Digital Witness’, a song with happy harmonies that make you want to dance – as the singer tells herself: “what’s the point of even sleeping?” – so was the last title, ‘Bring Me Your Loves’, lifting you away in a happy place. The fourth song, ‘Regret’, opened with a very punchy and powerful movement, alternating regularly with a milkier, softer chorus; overall giving a very good dynamic to the track.

The third title, ‘Birth in Reverse’, with its distorted guitar effects and kick drum here and there, had somehow a Franz Ferdinand touch; a retro feeling integrating itself well in Annie’s world. On another song, ‘Huey Newton’, its outer space feeling in the first part was then contrasted with a heavy, gritty bass guitar that made one think of rock band Rinocerose‘s famous song ‘Cubicle’.

The sixth song ‘Prince Johnny’, with its heavy use of keyboard voices in the background, was especially noticeable for the great guitar solo by Annie: accessible and well in the tone, without being simplistic either and played at a good pace, it was an enjoyable moment.

The standout song of the concert though, both for its content and its style, was the fifth one, ‘I Prefer Your Love’. This song is a statement of love dedicated to Annie‘s mother who has been sick last year, where she sings “all the good in me is because of you” and “I prefer your love to Jesus”. This song was also striking in its likelihood with some of Sinéad O’Connor‘s songs, such as ‘Song to the Siren’, with a similar eerie and transcendent musical arrangement and singing. It was an overall programmed but nonetheless enjoyable show, concluded with enthusiastic applause.

This article appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.

Liz Green - Where The River Don't Flow

English artist Liz Green has not finished delighting us. After her highly acclaimed debut album O, Devotion! in 2011, her eccentric and attractive world will be out in the open again with her follow up Haul Away!, due out via PIAS on 14 April 2014.

In Liz‘s own words, “Haul Away! is a breath of the edge of the world. The Ground vs The Sea I suppose. There’s more life and more going on.” She adds, “Hopefully it sounds a little more like me.”

The single ‘Where The River Don’t Flow’ is a good introduction to this new work. Beginning with a jazzy and catchy Aristocats-like piano introduction, the entire song contains this chiaroscuro mood making it so attractive.

Apart from a somewhat disappointing piano transition at the middle of the song, which could have been a bit crazier and imaginative, Liz Green‘s true voice and the piano play well together. Very faint drums and saxophone remain in the shadows throughout, to support the former shining duo.

‘Where The River Don’t Flow’ has this musical eccentricity typical of an English style – slightly wacky in its own way, but all the while maintaining it within classic standards, so that anyone can be touched by it.

This is for sure a song that will make you want to discover the rest of Liz Green‘s new album. Until then, only one remaining word need be said about ‘Where The River Don’t Flow’: enjoy!

 This article appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.

Censorship, Yesterday and Today - International Symposium

History of censorship in the world,
from the 18^th century to the 21^st century

International Symposium, Paris, 6-8 February 2014

Selfban, by Solar Jam

Where does censorship begin, where does it end? Where is the limit between censoring and regulating? Does censorship still exists in democracies of the 21^st century? These are some of the questions addressed during this three-day symposium on the history of the practice of censorship throughout the world, event organized by several institutions and universities from Paris.

The symposium took place between Thursday 6 and Saturday 8 February 2014, in three different locations: Sciences-Po's history center, Paris 2 University and the INA center. From the first to the last day, people got to know one another gradually and it was in a good-natured atmosphere that the event ended.

The substance of the symposium was very stimulating, and all the interventions were very relevant to one another, not only to the general theme. This success was the product of a well-informed research and one-by-one selection of all of the participants instead of a general call to a vast and approximate range of scholars, one of the organizers and animator of the event told me, Mr Laurent Martin, History teacher at Paris 3 University.

Indeed French, English, American and Canadian scholars, as well as academics and activists from several other countries participated over the days to the general argumentation – which was carried out both in French and English. The schedule had been arranged in a dynamic fashion, and in particular the “round tables” offered lively brainstorms, where any one could ask questions to the experts and fuel the debate, which was much more opinionated than the rest of the symposium.

 

From the 18^th to the 21^st century, in totalitarian or democratic states, censorship has always existed and is still used today under many various forms, whether it be directed at political pamphlets in 18^th century France, the trade of pornographic literature between France and Spain in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, English and German theater plays in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, at the media today in China and Russia or education in Japan and the United-States. These are some examples of the addressed topics during the conference, wide-ranging both in nature and geography.

One of the highlights of the symposium was the round table of day 3, with the participation of activists: Ismail Serageldin for “Beacon for Freedom of Expression”, an international censorship database gathering information about censored media; Marie Korpe representing “Freemuse”, association acting against censorship in music throughout the world; and Agnès Tricroire, lawyer and representing the Human Rights League and the Observatory for Freedom of Creation. The very fact that they were people actively defending freedom of expression in several of its forms (whether politically, historically or artistically) offered an engaged and enlightening view of contemporary censorship.

Still, issues remain without clear answers even after the colloquy, due to their complex nature: first, the fact that there will always be the paradox of having more information about censorship in countries where it is not that effective in the end – since it is possible to have some knowledge of it – and much less information from countries where freedom of expression is completely oppressed at all levels. I wonder how the system of censorship works in North Korea.

Alexis de Tocqueville, who had already written
about the issue of the "tyranny of the majority"
in his Democracy in America, 1835

 Another moral question arose during the concluding round table of day 1, after a presentation of a case in Arizona, where a progressive Mexican American Studies curriculum in school books had been banned bythe Arizona legislature in 2010. The question was, is it morally more acceptable and/or better for the good of society to let experts rule – which would be compared to an oligarchy, but by people who have a round knowledge of what they're dealing with; or to let the majority rule – because the people have the right to decide of the aspects that directly apply to them, however flawed, partial or simplistic their knowledge of it might be? We therefore go back to the broader debate about democracy altogether, and its “tyranny of the majority”. But the issue, once again, remained unresolved and was rather quickly dismissed as well. 

It is of course not in the scope of a three-day symposium that the big problems of our century will see an end. Thankfully though, this kind of events show that there are still people on this planet who are willing to share what they know in order to open an intelligent discussion and act toward a better world, and it is with such initiatives that Man will not fall into the oblivion of its own mistakes.

This article was written for this blog only.

Human interest: portrait of three LSJ students

Journalism is testing, but they are determined to get there

Claudia, 25, student in journalism from Avezzano, Italy

I have always been someone sociable. I love to have contact with people, and I am also very into the field of culture - I myself studied violin for eight years. But writing is also one of my passions.

First, I have studied humanities for five years, but I also have a bachelor's degree in Italian literature. And now, I am studying journalism since last year. As practical experiences, I have worked in different publications over the years, in the field of informations and communications. Obviously, I have never been paid for all I have done there, but I guess that is the way at first. I must say it has not been disappointment-free: even if you are passionate about a work, it does not make everything, and we need to feel gratified sometimes... Something that did not always happen. When I worked for an important Italian newspaper, for instance, they had promised me a job at the end of my internship. Of course, this never happened, and it has upset me deeply.

So now, I work as the head of press office at Adsumus Quoque, an association I founded with friends of mine, and where I deal with arts and cultural events. I am very happy with it, because I can keep on writing – the one thing I love and that makes me feel free – and I am keeping a contact with culture.

But even though I am lucky to have had all those experiences, the LSJ was a great opportunity because it is one of the best schools to study journalism. So at the end of it, when I will have learned so much, I will go back to Italy and try to work in some newspaper in Rome. I will also keep on practising my English, because it is one of the most important languages in this globalized world now. For someone sociable like me, that would be really ironic not to be able to communicate well with others!

 

Morgane, 23, freelance journalist from Paris, France

I realized I love writing when I made a communications' internship for my languages studies. After that I made another internship at the cinema journal Première – I honestly still have no idea how they got my resume – and there, it was... special. On the one hand I was writing about cinema, something I had always dreamed to do; on the other hand, the rhythm was one of a factory, and with time I got almost fed up with cinema altogether. I didn't like this bitter-sweet taste, so before the end of the contract, I quitted.

Then I left for New York to take a language class for two weeks last January, and when I came back I started working at the League Against Cancer. But they did not gave me the tasks promised in the ad, and in the end I was never in contact with people; however that's what I am interested in. So I quitted.

But I knew I still wanted to write. So I applied to where I am working now, La Gazette du Val d'Oise and L'Echo régional. I discovered many things there, from politics and cultural events to associations and humanitarian actions: domains I truly love. However it is not well paid, and I want to be financially independent now.

I also want to leave France, and if possible go back to the United-States. That is why I took this summer school: I was looking for a short programme that would give me more skills in the English

writing style, so that I can work abroad. The LSJ's programme being very broad, I thought it could also make me realize where I would want to specialize in.

So as soon as I get back in France, I will quit my job (I swear I am not making it on purpose) and look for several weeks for journalism opportunities abroad. And if I can, I would like to pursue humanitarian works, to give a voice to minorities and get involved in social issues through my writing.

Fabiola, 21, student in political sciences and international relations from Salerno, Italy

Since I was a child, I have wanted to become a journalist. So I am ready to do whatever it takes to succeed in my dream – my dream job being correspondent for a Middle-Eastern country, which is why I have learned Arabic.
After my baccalaureate three years ago, I went to a political sciences and international relations' bachelor's degree at the university of Naples “L'Orientale”. Even though I have also participated in national final games in mathematics and chemistry prior to that, in 2000 and 2009, what I like is humanistic studies and not hard sciences.

But actually, my interest in international relations, which in my view are a key feature to understanding society, was born in my last year of high school. That is why I worked afterwards for my university's newspaper, Levante online, at the Middle-Eastern desk. But I quitted and since May of last year, I am working at the Radio Base, based in Pagani in Italy. It is not always easy of course, it has its ups and downs, but I want to stay because it is really interesting to have the chance to experience real editorial reality.

I am really benefiting from this summer course, and London is a nice change from the place where I live back home: I like the cosmopolitan soul of this city. What I expect from this school is, first of all, to improve my English, which will in turn allow me to keep on pursuing my efforts to become a foreign correspondent. I know there are a lot of difficulties, and I am actually realizing every day how difficult it is make yourself a place in this world. I guess it is the kind of things that happen when you face the reality of any job you want to do; but it won't stop me, that is a certainty. 

This article was written as an assignment for the London School of Journalism