Les Amours Imaginaires: Xavier Dolan, boy genius

I've just come out of the equally inspiring, mind-blowing and utterly depressing filmic experience that was Les Amours Imaginaires (English/American title: Heartbeats), the 2nd feature-length film project of Xavier Dolan, 21-year-old French-canadian director/actor/writer/prodigy. Why depressing? Oh, just because Dolan wrote his first screenplay at the ripe old age of 17. He put the film (J'ai tué ma mère, 2008) into production two years later, and was subsequently recognized with an 8-minute standing ovation at the 2009 Cannes film festival and nominated for best foreign film both at the Oscars and the Césars. Though I haven't seen Dolan's debut film, I'm really looking forward to it if Les Amours Imaginaires is anything to go by. Putting his own unique twist on the tongue-in-cheek Nouvelle Vague-inspired concepts of jump-cuts, black comedy and brash primary-colored landscapes, Dolan paints a gorgeously refined (if nearly impossible to understand without subtitles, even for the French, à cause de l'accent quebecois), hilarious portrait of a twisted love triangle-- that of Francis and Marie, two best friends who fall for the same unattainable golden god, Nicolas. Dolan himself, adorable in Montreal-hipster attire (including but not limited to bleached oversized denim jackets, bright pink skinny jeans and skeleton-painted fingerless gloves) and the James Dean-esque haircut that every young lad below 14th street seems to be sporting nowadays, plays Francis, while Monia Chokri, in attire that floats somewhere in the region between 50's housewife and Audrey Hepburn, plays his best friend, Marie. Then there is the gorgeous Niels Schneider as Nicolas, the object of their affection, who seems to seduce everything that moves. Don't discount the beginning of the film as pretentious or "faux-indie"-- yes, Tarantino did use that song in Kill Bill; yes, Gus Van Sant already coined the "frozen snapshot" style of shooting sex scenes in My Own Private Idaho,yes, we've already seen the 2-guys-one-girl-ambiguous-sexuality-waking-up-in-bed-together-jealousy-etc scenario in Bertolucci's The Dreamers-- just keep watching and you may fall in love; or better yet just come out of the theater with a new knowledge of Quebecois slang... (par exemple, "Le shmoke cache le marde!"). That having been said, the self-admittedly "hysteria-worshipping" Dolan completes the package with a killer soundtrack, stunning cinematography and a gripping and ultimately hilarious plotline (oh, and a guest appearance by the one and only Louis Garrel!) Dolan's next project, Laurence Anyways, about a transsexual, is slated for 2012. And he's only 21... bon courage!

Monia Chokri (apparently one of Dolan's best friends in real life) as Marie

Xavier Dolan as Francis (I wasn't lying about the clothes...)

hmmm where have I seen this image before?

the director/actor/writer at work

and the trailer, of course:

Blame it on the Tetons - Modest Mouse

That was my favorite song five years ago. Finally got to see the Tetons in real life. It's fosho a magical place - don't really know what the Modest Mouse lyrics actually meant, but basically I think that Grand Teton is where it's at.

We were there last week, and I absolutely loved it. I fell in love with the mountains, the geysers, the wildlife. We went white water rafting on Snake River, hiking and horseback riding through the Tetons, driving through Yellowstone.

The hike through the Rockefeller Preserve up to Phelps Lake. Found some strange trees. One of them was preggers.

We kept smelling cinnamon throughout the hike. Never figured out where/what it was coming from.

Phelps Lake

Jenny Lake

Jackson Lake

Snake River as seen from Oxbow Bend

All of the fields in the Teton valley were heavily occupied by cows, horsies, deer, or bison. The fluff on the fields is sagebrush - smelled super good.

We spent only one day up in Yellowstone, even though we met someone who said she spent five days there. Visited a lot of geysers (skipped Old Faithful though), saw wildlife, met my future husband Fred.

The geysers were colorful and smelly (sulfur)

So many snags left from the Yellowstone wildfires of '88

You can see Fred over there. Such a hottie (not joking). Best looking bison you will ever see.

I saw Bambi there too

I think they called this Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Yellowstone Lake

Wow, that was a long post yo. Oh and Fred and I are working things out long distance in case you were wondering.

Just Kids.. with some dreams and some paintbrushes

I've been reading a lot recently about Patti Smith's new novel, Just Kids, which came out in January-- I personally can't wait to get my hands on a copy. The legendary rock star and poet's first novel offers a "never-before-seen glimpse" of her relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe and their life in New York City in the late sixties and seventies during the prelude to their imminent fame. I read an excerpt recently, I think either in Rolling Stone or Interview, in which Smith recalls how she and Mapplethorpe would buy art supplies before food-- and how they made a pact to continue creating and to take care of each other no matter what happened. It's easy to idealize the bohemian, starving-artist lifestyle (I am admittedly guilty of doing so), but what I read of Smith and Mapplethorpe's seemingly passionate and creativity-fueled love struck me as beautiful and got me thinking of other (often star-cross'd) bohemian lovers-- Above, a picture of Mapplethorpe and Smith in NYC in the 70's. Below, a few more of my favorites:

John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Even though she broke up the band, I still love her. And this iconic image by Annie Leibovitz, which appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1980.

Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull.

Anna Karina and Jean-Luc Godard. Apparently some of the lines from Pierrot Le Fou (1965) were improvised; Godard had Belmondo and Karina simply make conversation without telling them the camera was rolling. He ended up using a great deal of footage from these "improvisations." There's a specific scene in the film, too, in which Karina is staring directly into the camera while she berates "Pierrot"-- and word has it that her tirade was the result of a real argument with Godard, her then-husband, who promptly taped it and put it in the film.

Marie Antoinette and Count Fersen (film still from Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette). The infamous queen's relationship with her husband, Louis XVI (whose greatest passion and hobby was lock-picking... ironic?) was less than perfect. So what's a girl to do in that situation? Take up a dashing Swedish lover, of course. Even better, one who resembles Jamie Dornan. Say what you will about the historical inaccuracy and disjointedness of the film; their love scene is set to "Kings of the Wild Frontier" by Adam & The Ants and is, in my opinion, perfect.

Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin... (can you see their traits in Charlotte?)

The always-classy Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen..

Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash

...and of course, Kate Moss and Johnny Depp circa the early 90's (by Annie Leibovitz). The most physically perfect couple to ever exist. Tell me again why they broke up???