old French cinema is melancholic chic ***tripping on mushrooms while watching this elevates the experience
**I did that and now I only want to make movies that look like this one
*****DISNEY steals ideas
When making Beauty and the Beast in 1945, Jean Cocteau kept a diary of the process. As someone trying to make films myself, I am finding Cocteau’s account far more insightful than hearing about filmmakers talking about the process in retrospect. It’s so comforting watching Cocteau have to deal with everything going wrong ALL THE TIME (and knowing that it actually turned out amazingly), along with trying to balance his idealism with the practicalities of working with people and machines that might not always want to cooperate. He’s also making his first film at 50 so it’s never too late to take up a different path. An incredible book about filmmaking - and v inspiring if you make or want to make a film yourself ♥️
It’s gotta be my favorite Jacques Demy. It’s fantastical and stunning in a way I feel a lot of films wish they were. It’s super bizarre and campy and it feels just like a dream. I would also recommend Belle du Jour and The Blood of a Poet
