[Tikievents] Secret Cinema and International House co-present FRENCH POP Mini-Fest

[Jay Schwartz]

The Secret Cinema and International House co-present FRENCH POP Mini-Fest

On two consecutive Fridays in July, the Secret Cinema and International=20
House will collaborate on a mini-festival of FRENCH POP, with two=20
screenings of films depicting the "Ye Ye" music movement of the 1960s, plus=
=20
a special after-party featuring rare French records spun at a new French=20
bar in Center City.

In early-'60s France, a new style of pop music was developing alongside the=
=20
New Wave cinema movement. "Ye Ye" music (or "Yeh Yeh," or "Ya Ya") was=20
perky and youthful, and often emphasized singers' style and sassy attitude=
=20
rather than smooth technique. Major stars included Francoise Hardy, Sylvie=
=20
Vartan, France Gall, and Serge Gainsbourg. An international rediscovery of=
=20
this music has been building for years -- a recent article in the British=20
magazine MOJO was titled "50 Reasons Why We Love French Pop," and the=20
soundtrack of the current film CQ (set in 1969 Paris) is spiced up=20
considerably by the music of Jacques Dutronc.

Our FRENCH POP film program consists of MASCULINE-FEMININE, a rarely=20
screened feature by Jean-Luc Godard with Ye Ye star Chantal Goya playing an=
=20
aspiring pop singer (and with cameos by Francoise Hardy and Brigitte=20
Bardot), plus a rare early Godard short. This will be followed the next=20
week by SCOPITONE PARTY, which explores the phenomenon of France's unique=20
film jukebox Scopitone, complete with numerous song clips and even a slide=
=20
talk on the history of the film jukebox (this is a repeat of a=20
much-requested Secret Cinema program from 1999). Immediately after=20
SCOPITONE PARTY will be YE YE YE!, a musical after-party at the newly=20
opened French bar L'Hexagone, with visiting D.J. Silvia (direct from Gij=F3n=
,=20
Spain!) playing rare '60s French vinyl into the late night.

All Secret Cinema presentations are presented in 16mm film on a giant=20
screen (not video).

The full schedule of FRENCH POP is:

at International House (3701 Chestnut Street - 215-895-6575)

         Friday, July 12 - 8:00 pm
         MASCULINE-FEMININE/ALL THE BOYS ARE CALLED PATRICK screening
         Admission: $5.00

         Friday, July 19 - 7:30 pm
         SCOPITONE PARTY screening and slide talk
         Admission: $5.00

at L'Hexagone (1718 Sansom Street - 215-569-4869)

         Friday, July 19 - 10:00 pm - 2:00 am
         YE YE YE! after-party with D.J. Silvia
         Admission: Free

Complete descriptions of EVERYTHING follow:

MASCULINE-FEMININE
(dir. Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1966, in French w/ English subtitles)
A film about "the children of Marx and Coca Cola" directed by the child of=
=20
Brecht, Levi-Strauss and Hollywood, MASCULINE-FEMININE is a touchstone in=20
the career of Jean-Luc Godard and a window into the kinetic world of Paris=
=20
in the 1960s. Inspired by two Guy de Maupassant stories, MASCULINE-FEMININE=
=20
seems the most casual of Jean-Luc Godard's 60s films: it consists of a=20
series of short, discontinuous scenes -- labeled "precise facts" -- loosely=
=20
centered on a romance between Paul (played by Jean-Pierre Leaud of=20
Truffaut's Antoine Doinel cycle) and pop singer Madeleine (Chantal Goya),=20
but with room for digressions on the Vietnam war and a quick recap of LeRoi=
=20
Jones's play THE DUTCHMAN and Edward Albee's ZOO STORY. While Madeleine=20
pursues her career, Paul, a confused romantic in search of perfect love,=20
tries to coexist with her and her two roommates. Leaud's character --=20
practically an extension of the Antoine Doinel character he played for=20
Truffaut (he even adopts the name Doinel at one point in the film) -- wants=
=20
to live for love, but the ideal becomes problematic in a detached and=20
increasingly consumer-oriented society.

With MASCULINE-FEMININE, Godard began a string of increasingly political=20
pictures, leading eventually to his self-imposed exile from commercial=20
cinema a year later. His interest in the synthesis of fiction and=20
documentary is already in full evidence here, with static interview shots=20
(including Leaud interviewing a young woman just voted France's Miss=20
Nineteen for 1966) included as a means of showing an everyday chronicle of=
=20
Parisian youth in the winter of 1965 (contrary to the director's=20
intentions, the picture was banned in France for those under 18). Charming,=
=20
innovative, provocative, and prophetic, MASCULINE-FEMININE is one of=20
Godard's mid-sixties masterpieces.

MASCULINE-FEMININE is also special because it captures some rare glimpses=20
of the thriving mid-'60s French pop music phenomenon called "Ye Ye." The=20
film's beautiful and natural co-star, singer Chantal Goya, was chosen by=20
Godard specifically for her lack of acting experience -- it was fortuitous=
=20
that her record label's A&R man was a magazine publisher responsible for=20
France's respective monthly bibles of Ye Ye (SALUT LES COPAINS) and film=20
(CAHIERS DU CINEMA). Singer Goya plays a singer, and the scene of Goya=20
recording a Ye Ye hit is a highlight. Appearing in cameos, for good=20
measure, are French pop queens Francoise Hardy and Brigitte Bardot!

This program will also include Godard's 1957 short film ALL THE BOYS ARE=20
CALLED PATRICK, a simple and humorous love triangle written by Eric Rohmer,=
=20
that reveals some of the hallmark traits of Godard's style which he would=20
later exploit in his groundbreaking features (particularly the use of music=
=20
and text).


SCOPITONE PARTY (1963-8, France and U.S. Dir: Anonymous)
SCOPITONE PARTY is a unique collection of music films from the early and=20
mid 1960s. They were originally made for a French film jukebox called=20
Scopitone, which entertained patrons in bars, cafes and bus stations in=20
both Europe and America. The film clips, which feature performers both=20
famous and obscure -- and are considered to be among the more important of=
=20
the many predecessors to the modern rock video -- are today quite scarce,=20
and usually difficult to see. Shown will be a large assortment of the=20
precious prints (most of which were discovered by a film collector, in=20
pristine, never-used condition, in the long-warehoused inventory of a=20
retired Virginia jukebox dealer). Adding extra  interest to the SCOPITONE=20
PARTY program will be a special talk by Secret Cinema programmer Jay=20
Schwartz about the history of film jukeboxes (which date back to the=20
1940s), illustrated with color slides of rare photos and original=20
advertising materials.

SCOPITONE PARTY will include performances by such well-known names as Dion,=
=20
Nancy Sinatra, Paul Anka and Procul Harum, plus a Robert Altman-directed=20
clip for a Tijuana Brass song. Also on view will be many French pop=20
performers, including currently in retro-vogue names like Francoise Hardy,=
=20
Sylvie Vartan, rockabilly-belting Johnny Hallyday, and doomed chanteuse=20
Dalida. And then there are mystifying, bizarre clips by the British Elvis=20
imitator Vince Taylor, a quartet of singing Jerry Lewis-types named Les=20
Brutos, and even a few songs by performers whose names were lost to history=
=20
(including one young miss who sings the song "Scopitone Party," as her=20
bikini-clad friends dance up a frenzy next to a poolside Scopitone machine).


YE YE YE! - THE FRENCH POP PARTY
After the Scopitone screening at I-House, swing over to L'Hexagone, Center=
=20
City's newest night spot, for a night of non-stop pop and dancing frenzy,=20
featuring music by Sylvie Vartan, Francoise Hardy, Serge Gainsbourg, Michel=
=20
Polnareff, Jacques Dutronc, and assorted Ultra Chicks and Swingin'=20
Mademoiselles. The music will be spun by D.J. Silvia, "la chica Ye Ye,"=20
visiting us direct from Gij=F3n, Spain, and she's packed her bags full of=20
rare original French vinyl! L'Hexagone is a brand new French bar that=20
features stylish decor, an intimate dance floor, two stories of lounging=20
space, and a menu of authentic light bistro fare. The party starts at 10 pm=
=20
and lasts until 2 am. Admission is free to all.


SECRET CINEMA WEBSITE: www.voicenet.com/-jschwart



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