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chaniA French movies website has asked our 10 candidates their top 5 movies, their take on Hadopi (a bill against downloading) and their program concerning culture
The film choices are interesting. Some of them might be genuine, others probably belong to political calculation regarding to what their voters like, what the candidates themselves are supposed to like (and in some case it's an opportunity to shatter an image), or what they would like the citizens to think they enjoy!
Some of you may remember that in 2007 I decided to post and parse the candidates' official campaign poster. I won't do that for this election, but I think that the top 5 movies list is interesting to study.
Their picks and my analysis, under the cut.
Eva Joly (Europe Ecologie les Verts) LEFT
- Schindler's List by Spielberg
- The Godfather by Coppola
- Il Gattopardo by Visconti
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Milos Forman
- Garde à vue by Claude Miller (who recently died)
- and she also picked a sixth that is 38 témoins by Lucas Belvaux.
The Godfather and her two last choices enhance the fact she used to be a merciless judge (juge d'instruction) whom corrupted politicians and business men feared. But I guess that Schindler's List is probably connected to her ideal of justice too.
Marine Le Pen (Front National) FAR-RIGHT
- Le Père Noël est une ordure by Jean-Marie Poiré
- Braveheart by Mel Gibson
- Manon des sources by Claude Berri
- Silence of the lambs by Jonathan Demme
- Gladiator by Ridley Scott
Mainstream and popular movies (because she wants to be seen as a candidate of the people) are her thing, and that's a list full of testosterone, pathos and epics! There's obviously in Marine le Pen a silly young girl in love with Hannibal Lecter and Mel Gibson. I would never peg her for a very cultured person so I tend to think the choices are genuine.
Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP) RIGHT
- La Passion Jeanne d'Arc by Dreyer
- L'Atalante by Jean Vigo
- It happened one night by Franck Capra
- Roma, città aperta by Roberto Rossellini
- Lolita by Stanley Kubrick
I'm pretty sure Carla picked the films for him! Also I can't imagine low-brow Sarkozy (who didn't understand how one could read La Princesse de Clèves) sitting through Dreyer's beautiful film, but since he made a fuss about Joan of Arc when he celebrated her 600th birthday in Domrémy in february – to steal voters from Le Pen– he had to pick a movie about her! He's been trying so hard to look like a well-read man lately and here he's trying to appear as a true cinéphile ...
The explanations he gives for his choices are priceless and must have been written by his spin-doctor.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon (Parti de Gauche) LEFT
- Little Big Man by Arthur Penn
- Blade Runner by Ridley Scott
- Fellini Roma by Fellini
-Apocalyspe Now by Coppola
- Out of Africa by Sydney Pollack
Mélenchon gave his list but didn't send explanations, didn't try to justify his choices. I know that he likes reading science fiction so Blade Runner isn't surprising. The choices seem genuine because they aren't obvious echoes of his politics. I think they have a lot to do with personal tastes and personal history. For instance Out Of Africa must have everything to do with his youth since he was born in Tanger and he left his home in North Africa when he was
Philippe Poutou (NPA) FAR-LEFT
- Modern Times by Chaplin
- Spartacus by Kubrick
- Birdy by Alan Parker
- Ressources Humaines by Laurent Cantet
- Land and freedom by Ken Loach
Good films in general but very ideological choices from this anti-capitalist worker. Looks like that every thing in Poutou's life is shaped by his political commitment, which is often the case in far-left groups. Philippe Poutou is probably the most endearing candidate in this election, and his list is a good reflection of the guy.
Nathalie Arthaud (Lutte Ouvrière) FAR-LEFT
-Thelma&Louise by Ridley Scott
- 12 Angry Men by Sydney Lumet
- Fried Green Tomatoes by Jon Avnet
-We want sex equality by Nigel Cole
- Chicken Run by Peter Lord, Nick Park
The ideological side of her choices is a bit less obvious and yet it's there. There's a feminist element but, above all, most of the characters in those films make subversive choices and break the rules. Chicken Run is very significant.
Also, I can't help notice that there no French film in her list. But LO candidates only run to be heard and seen, they support revolution, they don't intend to win an election they don't believe in; so Arthaud's goal is not to become French president.
Jacques Cheminade (Solidarité et progrès) ???? He's a bit of an alien on the French political field. What most citizens know about him is that his party was once considered to be "a sect", that he wants to industrialize the Moon and Mars, and that he has acquaintances with far-right...
- La règle du jeu by Jean Renoir
- Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by John Ford
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Don Siegel
- Cave Of Forgotten Dreams ( a documentary) by Werner Herzog
He is obviously the movie buff of the list. Very interesting choices. He picked two ground-breaking masterpices of cinema (La règle du jeu and Rashomon) and it was quite iconoclastic to pick a documentary or Invasion od The Body Snatchers!
Should I vote according to film choices I would probably vote Cheminade! o O
François Bayrou (Modem) RIGHT even though he pretends to be a centrist...
- La Fille du Puisatier by Marcel Pagnol
- Les Tontons flingueurs by George Lautner
- The Sound of Music by Robert Wise
- To be or not to be by Ernst Lubitsch
- Pretty Woman by Garry Marshall
Bayrou is not a movie buff at all! It's all about entertainment for him...and also about "faire peuple", with a corny-feel to it. He still thinks that his dream of becoming president will come true...
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (Debout la République) RIGHT
- Que la fête commence by Tavernier (but also La vie et rien d'autres by Tavernier and La Princesse de Montpensier)
- La dolce Vita by Fellini
- La nuit de Varenne by Ettore Scola
- Annie Hall and Match Point by Allen
So he actually picked 7 films in his top five, because he liked Italian cinema but he's a fan of Tavernier and of Woody Allen...
He has a narrowed view of the world and of cinema and should expand his horizons.
François Hollande (Parti Socialiste) LEFT...well, the PS is more and more centrist these days, following the footsteps of New Labour.
- Sous le sable by Ozon
- Spartacus by Stanley Kubrick
- Ma nuit chez Maud by Rohmer
- Baisers Volés by Truffaut
- Cheyenne Autumn by John Ford.
Those are very average-choices. I told you he was actually a centrist! He tries to have a bobo vibe with Ozon and Rohmer though.
Also there are three movies about intimate stuff that focus on the individual, and only two films that focus on collective struggle and collective wellfare with John Ford's western (but I bet it's a favourite from his childhood!) and Spartacus. Maybe Hollande was seduced by socialism once upon a time, but he has embraced this individualist society.
The film choices are interesting. Some of them might be genuine, others probably belong to political calculation regarding to what their voters like, what the candidates themselves are supposed to like (and in some case it's an opportunity to shatter an image), or what they would like the citizens to think they enjoy!
Some of you may remember that in 2007 I decided to post and parse the candidates' official campaign poster. I won't do that for this election, but I think that the top 5 movies list is interesting to study.
Their picks and my analysis, under the cut.
Eva Joly (Europe Ecologie les Verts) LEFT
- Schindler's List by Spielberg
- The Godfather by Coppola
- Il Gattopardo by Visconti
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Milos Forman
- Garde à vue by Claude Miller (who recently died)
- and she also picked a sixth that is 38 témoins by Lucas Belvaux.
The Godfather and her two last choices enhance the fact she used to be a merciless judge (juge d'instruction) whom corrupted politicians and business men feared. But I guess that Schindler's List is probably connected to her ideal of justice too.
Marine Le Pen (Front National) FAR-RIGHT
- Le Père Noël est une ordure by Jean-Marie Poiré
- Braveheart by Mel Gibson
- Manon des sources by Claude Berri
- Silence of the lambs by Jonathan Demme
- Gladiator by Ridley Scott
Mainstream and popular movies (because she wants to be seen as a candidate of the people) are her thing, and that's a list full of testosterone, pathos and epics! There's obviously in Marine le Pen a silly young girl in love with Hannibal Lecter and Mel Gibson. I would never peg her for a very cultured person so I tend to think the choices are genuine.
Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP) RIGHT
- La Passion Jeanne d'Arc by Dreyer
- L'Atalante by Jean Vigo
- It happened one night by Franck Capra
- Roma, città aperta by Roberto Rossellini
- Lolita by Stanley Kubrick
I'm pretty sure Carla picked the films for him! Also I can't imagine low-brow Sarkozy (who didn't understand how one could read La Princesse de Clèves) sitting through Dreyer's beautiful film, but since he made a fuss about Joan of Arc when he celebrated her 600th birthday in Domrémy in february – to steal voters from Le Pen– he had to pick a movie about her! He's been trying so hard to look like a well-read man lately and here he's trying to appear as a true cinéphile ...
The explanations he gives for his choices are priceless and must have been written by his spin-doctor.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon (Parti de Gauche) LEFT
- Little Big Man by Arthur Penn
- Blade Runner by Ridley Scott
- Fellini Roma by Fellini
-Apocalyspe Now by Coppola
- Out of Africa by Sydney Pollack
Mélenchon gave his list but didn't send explanations, didn't try to justify his choices. I know that he likes reading science fiction so Blade Runner isn't surprising. The choices seem genuine because they aren't obvious echoes of his politics. I think they have a lot to do with personal tastes and personal history. For instance Out Of Africa must have everything to do with his youth since he was born in Tanger and he left his home in North Africa when he was
Philippe Poutou (NPA) FAR-LEFT
- Modern Times by Chaplin
- Spartacus by Kubrick
- Birdy by Alan Parker
- Ressources Humaines by Laurent Cantet
- Land and freedom by Ken Loach
Good films in general but very ideological choices from this anti-capitalist worker. Looks like that every thing in Poutou's life is shaped by his political commitment, which is often the case in far-left groups. Philippe Poutou is probably the most endearing candidate in this election, and his list is a good reflection of the guy.
Nathalie Arthaud (Lutte Ouvrière) FAR-LEFT
-Thelma&Louise by Ridley Scott
- 12 Angry Men by Sydney Lumet
- Fried Green Tomatoes by Jon Avnet
-We want sex equality by Nigel Cole
- Chicken Run by Peter Lord, Nick Park
The ideological side of her choices is a bit less obvious and yet it's there. There's a feminist element but, above all, most of the characters in those films make subversive choices and break the rules. Chicken Run is very significant.
Also, I can't help notice that there no French film in her list. But LO candidates only run to be heard and seen, they support revolution, they don't intend to win an election they don't believe in; so Arthaud's goal is not to become French president.
Jacques Cheminade (Solidarité et progrès) ???? He's a bit of an alien on the French political field. What most citizens know about him is that his party was once considered to be "a sect", that he wants to industrialize the Moon and Mars, and that he has acquaintances with far-right...
- La règle du jeu by Jean Renoir
- Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by John Ford
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Don Siegel
- Cave Of Forgotten Dreams ( a documentary) by Werner Herzog
He is obviously the movie buff of the list. Very interesting choices. He picked two ground-breaking masterpices of cinema (La règle du jeu and Rashomon) and it was quite iconoclastic to pick a documentary or Invasion od The Body Snatchers!
Should I vote according to film choices I would probably vote Cheminade! o O
François Bayrou (Modem) RIGHT even though he pretends to be a centrist...
- La Fille du Puisatier by Marcel Pagnol
- Les Tontons flingueurs by George Lautner
- The Sound of Music by Robert Wise
- To be or not to be by Ernst Lubitsch
- Pretty Woman by Garry Marshall
Bayrou is not a movie buff at all! It's all about entertainment for him...and also about "faire peuple", with a corny-feel to it. He still thinks that his dream of becoming president will come true...
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (Debout la République) RIGHT
- Que la fête commence by Tavernier (but also La vie et rien d'autres by Tavernier and La Princesse de Montpensier)
- La dolce Vita by Fellini
- La nuit de Varenne by Ettore Scola
- Annie Hall and Match Point by Allen
So he actually picked 7 films in his top five, because he liked Italian cinema but he's a fan of Tavernier and of Woody Allen...
He has a narrowed view of the world and of cinema and should expand his horizons.
François Hollande (Parti Socialiste) LEFT...well, the PS is more and more centrist these days, following the footsteps of New Labour.
- Sous le sable by Ozon
- Spartacus by Stanley Kubrick
- Ma nuit chez Maud by Rohmer
- Baisers Volés by Truffaut
- Cheyenne Autumn by John Ford.
Those are very average-choices. I told you he was actually a centrist! He tries to have a bobo vibe with Ozon and Rohmer though.
Also there are three movies about intimate stuff that focus on the individual, and only two films that focus on collective struggle and collective wellfare with John Ford's western (but I bet it's a favourite from his childhood!) and Spartacus. Maybe Hollande was seduced by socialism once upon a time, but he has embraced this individualist society.