Paris, un jour d'hiver
Guy Gilles takes his camera around Paris on a winter's day. He follows passers-by, children playing in the snow, the gaze of people behind their windows, and plays with the fog and winter's bare trees.
| Director | Guy Gilles |
| Actor | Amandine Gay |
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Guy Gilles is a lover of postcards, and Paris, un jour d’hiver is one of the most beautiful embodiments of a recurring motif in his work. In this short film, which hovers between documentary and poetry, we also find the magnetic presence of Patrick Jouané, his favorite actor, who this time takes on the features of a titi parisien, seemingly inviting us to wander with him. Paris, un jour d’hiver is simultaneously a reflection on the subjectivity of memory, an ode to the captivating and repelling power of the Capital, and a building block in the (audio)visual mythology of the City of Light. Here, everything serves as a pretext for the exaltation of nostalgia in the present: the words of passersby, children’s snowballs, the daily activities of the city’s inhabitants—embellished with slow motion, freeze frames, and whimsical editing—leading us through a dreamlike cadavre exquis.
I am one of those who have long dreamed of Paris, through so many films, including this one, which I first saw 20 years ago during a Guy Gilles retrospective hosted by Gaël Lépingle (the man who tirelessly worked to bring the films of one of my favorite French directors back into the light). I lived in Paris for a long time—loved it, hated it, then left it—only to find myself back again 15 years later, in love as on the very first day. Watching this film again, on a winter’s day, in Paris, I am overwhelmed by nostalgia: this is no longer poetry—it’s magic!
Amandine Gay
Filmmaker
-
Français
10 mn
Language: Français
- Année 1962
- Pays France
- Durée 14
- Producteur Les Films de La Pléiade
- Langue French
- Résumé court Fleeting images of Paris in winter, perfectly encapsulated by Chris Marker's famous phrase: "Nothing is more beautiful than Paris, except the memory of Paris."
Guy Gilles is a lover of postcards, and Paris, un jour d’hiver is one of the most beautiful embodiments of a recurring motif in his work. In this short film, which hovers between documentary and poetry, we also find the magnetic presence of Patrick Jouané, his favorite actor, who this time takes on the features of a titi parisien, seemingly inviting us to wander with him. Paris, un jour d’hiver is simultaneously a reflection on the subjectivity of memory, an ode to the captivating and repelling power of the Capital, and a building block in the (audio)visual mythology of the City of Light. Here, everything serves as a pretext for the exaltation of nostalgia in the present: the words of passersby, children’s snowballs, the daily activities of the city’s inhabitants—embellished with slow motion, freeze frames, and whimsical editing—leading us through a dreamlike cadavre exquis.
I am one of those who have long dreamed of Paris, through so many films, including this one, which I first saw 20 years ago during a Guy Gilles retrospective hosted by Gaël Lépingle (the man who tirelessly worked to bring the films of one of my favorite French directors back into the light). I lived in Paris for a long time—loved it, hated it, then left it—only to find myself back again 15 years later, in love as on the very first day. Watching this film again, on a winter’s day, in Paris, I am overwhelmed by nostalgia: this is no longer poetry—it’s magic!
Amandine Gay
Filmmaker
-
Français
Duration: 10 minutesLanguage: Français10 mn
- Année 1962
- Pays France
- Durée 14
- Producteur Les Films de La Pléiade
- Langue French
- Résumé court Fleeting images of Paris in winter, perfectly encapsulated by Chris Marker's famous phrase: "Nothing is more beautiful than Paris, except the memory of Paris."
