Brian Jonestown Massacre Makes Ode to French Film
‘Musique de Film Imaginé’ Gives Nod to 1960s New Wave Cinéastes
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Brian Jonestown Massacre leader Anton Newcombe’s sublime soundtrack for an imaginary film pays tribute to the ethos and era of Jean-Luc Godard and the French New Wave cinéastes who, upon the release of the 1960 film Breathless, broke with the sanitized bourgeois cinema of the past, signaling the advent of what would become an international youth explosion with ripple effects throughout the world. Sonic touchstones include Sigur Rós, François de Roubaix, Éric Demarsan, Philippe Sarde, Zbigniew Preisner, and Popol Vuh. William Sheller’s stunning “Philadelphie Story” is sultrily covered en français by French chanteuse Soko. Ultimately, Newcombe hopes to attract investors for a DIY film with Asia Argento. If Godard ends up collaborating with them — reinvigorating the notion of film as art and social discourse — it would leave us breathless.