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LES PREMIERS JOURS


Stéphane Breton, F, 2023, 74'
WORLD Premiere
Screenings:
Sat. 5.8.2022, 11h00, La Sala
Sun. 6.8.2022, 9h00, Palacinema 1

en / it / de / fr

Somewhere between the desert and the ocean that crashes against the cliffs, a handful of silent individuals harvest algae and load them into scrap vehicles. The landscape is lunar, the atmosphere reminiscent of a quiet day after an apocalypse. In northern Chile, the elements collide and merge, the senses overlap, textures and sounds blend to create a strange harmony. In the midst of this synesthetic chaos, destinies seem fragile, but lives full. All we can do is contemplate this spectacle of the world.

The beauty of Stéphane Breton’s twelfth film is instantly fascinating, its modernity astounding. Disrupting the hierarchy of the senses, the filmmaker, who is also an ethnologist, questions the primacy of pictures over sound. In this instance, the sound is edited at the same time as the image, resulting in an amazing collage. In a place without speech, the senses govern everything. Friction, noises, impressions, and juxtapositions give rise to a sensualist construction worthy of the greatest surrealist works. More than playing with the senses, this film explores a relationship with the world, mixing the tonal qualities of a chamber concerto with the palpitations of matter. The encounter with the acoustic and visual images of "Les premiers jours" reminds us that reflections arise from the echo of the world in our minds.

Thomas Gerber