DV. 26 minutes. 2004.

First two weeks of October 2003 in Paris with my sweetie and staying in my Aunt's apartment in Montmartre just down the street from the Montmartre cemetery where lie such heros of mine as Francois Truffaut and Nijinsky. Across the street from our building the apartment where Van Gogh once lived and just up the street the small Cinema 28 where Bunuel and Dali premiered L'Age D'Or to catcalls and vandals.

Divided into five short movies, as per the title.

The first movie is a kitchen sink attempt to use up some of the video I shot that doesn't fit anywhere else. Street music from an accordian underneath the Arc de Triomphe, and a dixieland band on Rue Lepic by the apartment where we stayed. The first image is of the Statue of Liberty on the Seine, but the heart of this section is the images of the Tour Eiffel, both during day and then brought to life at night by millions of tiny flashes. Also water and reflection from fountains spraying out the sights of the city. And time lapse photography from in front of Notre Dame and Saint Eustache, as well as clouds seen from the top floor of the Pompideau Center.

The second movie is about the Cocteau exhibit at the Pompideau center. Sounds and images from the great eclectic artist, and then a quick flashing tour of my favorite floor of this museum, the floor on which is kept the art from the first fifty years of the twentieth century. All the music was found sound recorded at the Cocteau exhibit.

The third movie is flashes of images of the Cathedral of St. Denis, the first gothic cathedral and the one wherein lie the bodies of most of the kings and queens of France. Death in sculpture, and sometimes the royalty even lie naked in stone. Centuries old graffiti on the sculptures. The music is from an organ rehearsal at the Saint Eustache Cathedral.

The fourth movie is a walk thru the Bois de Boulogne, the great park on the west side of Paris. Lots of water and reflections, from the city to the world of reflections and light and then back to the city again. The music is an organ piece by Liszt recorded illicitly at a concert in Saint Eustache Cathedral.

The fifth movie is my record of the 2003 Nuit Blanc, the city of Paris all night arts festival. The festival went from dusk to dawn and featured such vast outdoor events as the projections on buildings in the center of the city, sound, music, and art at galleries. The estimates were that a million people were in the center of the city for the event this year. Some of the buildings you see projection on include the Bourse (the stock exchange), Hotel de Ville (City Hall), and the Cathedrals of Saint Eustache and Saint Merrie. The music comes from a concert in Saint Eustache, plus the sound sculpture in the park at Les Halles.

The drawings that flash by between the movies are some of my quick sketches of Paris scenes that I made during the trip. I hope you like these movies.

See also Paris Postcard.

Contact: jakre@earthlink.net