Trying to return to the regular scheduled updates! Sometimes normal is the effort you make to go back to it.
I attended another of Centre PHI’s events this past Saturday this time a free exhibition about late director Jean-Marc Vallée’s passion for music.
Jean-Marc Vallée (1963-2021) was a Canadian filmmaker, director and screen writer born in Montreal. He also enjoyed DJing.
He was known for his naturalistic approach to filming, encouraging actors to improvise during takes, and used natural lighting and handheld cameras. He described himself as being like “a kid on a set. A kid playing with a huge toy and having fun”.
You might be familiar with some of his projects, notably C.R.A.Z.Y., Dallas Buyers Club, Wild, and Big Little Lies.
I had seen some of his work, notably C.R.A.Z.Y., which is so emblematic of Quebec culture. It’s always so validating to be able to relate to an artist’s work, especially one that is local but gained international renown the way he had. Some of his earlier work, such as Les Mots Magiques, features very typical Québécois details such as the snow truck, with its annoying horn, warning residents to come move their parked vehicles so snow can be removed from the streets.
It just so happens that after two heavy snowfalls within a few short days of another, we have recently had a historical amount of accumulation in Montreal streets last week, and it is still the same noise to make the same request, 27 years later.
The exhibition focused on his relationship to music, and how he used it in his work to provoke specific emotion in the audience.
Honestly, his passion, even second-hand through interviews with friends, family and colleagues, and short clips of his work, still managed to be very vivid and contagious. I came out with several things to check out. It made me miss the times when I was passionate about new music. I can’t remember last time that happened. It’s definitely something to cultivate.
My only complaint about the exhibition was that the hour allotted for it was not enough to watch and hear everything. We were thankfully let in earlier than our entry time, but as this was the last slot of the day and the Centre was closing afterwards, we had no choice but to leave. There was also no other availability for the rest of the run of the exhibition. I think they might prolong it should there be enough interest, but then again I’d probably let other people enjoy it.
There were interview clips with Marc-André Grondin, Alexandra Stréliski, Denis Villeneuve, but also Laura Dern, Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey.
I had only seen some of Jean-Marc Vallée’s work, though I was familiar with many other titles, and it made me curious to see more. I also came out with a lot of music recs to look into. Considering this event was a bit of a random choice for me, it was definitely worth it!
