1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Kind of Hip for the Room, June 25, 2003
This review is from: Tribute to Alain Delon & Jean-Pierre Melville (Audio CD)
This is a multi-artist tribute album to a French film star and a French film director that I've never heard of. But I've seen a lot of French art films so I'd say I know a little bit about the territory of this genre. Most of the French/European films that I've seen have been minute, obscure excursions through mostly romantic and/or other feelings that are done in a way American cinema never is. America cinema underlines, scrawls crayons all over and gives you Cliff's Notes to underlying emotions. French cinema tries to hide any tracks or traces to the underlying emotions and that's the way it is with this album. Imagine all the hippest, baddest European intellectuals of the past 100 years you've ever thought of, all wearing berets and snapping their hepcat, daddy-o fingers to the bongo beat of a 50's Parisian cafe getting together and putting their wan, delicate, Edith Piaf-like emotions into song. Then imagine Dieter (Mike Myers) of Sprockets fame orchestrating the overall endeavor, add a little Loungecore, a little Mancini, a little Mirwais, a little Air, a little Jacques Brel, a little Iggy Pop, a little early Bowie, some Bjork vocal gymnastics, etc. etc. and some remix spice (BT and Oakenfold have nothing to worry about, however) and there you have it. It's an interesting French stew; not unlistenable; not exactly really enjoyable; but very interesting. I think it would make a perfect score for some Tarentino homage to French New Wave.
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