Should it have won: France, 1991

So, with the reveal of the voting breakdown of jury and televote this year, it was interesting to see how very close it would have been if the Juries weren't voting, and also, how far from a win Russia would have been. I still remain mystified how that came second. 

But it made me think about other entries that came second, and which ones should have one.

So, this is the first in an occassional whenever I can be arsed series of posts to pad out the absence of Eurovision from our lives till September (when Switzerland will start the process again) 

Beginning with.... France, Amina, Le Dernier Qui Parle, 1991, second to Sweden. 

How close was this to winning? It tied! This is, since 1970 (when they decided to make ONE winner!) the only occasion there has been a tie. And, oh, what a tough break for this one. Carola's late 80s pop number holds nothing against this. The slight african sound to the song works really well, and strangely, makes it seem more French (for some reason it always makes me think of the soundtrack to Betty Blue) and it still holds up in many ways today. Even Amina's clothes would fit on a 2012 stage. Carola's song, style and even her dancing look so late 80s. Amina's entry is massively underrated and France have never really reached the same heights since. 

Should it have won? DEFINITELY! 

Delicatessen

I've just started learning French. Yay for me! I have to assume that French people are really good at maths, because learning numbers in French is so complicated.

Anyway, this week, I've been watching French films. There's so many of them. This should be very helpful for learning a language.

So which one did I watch?

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, Delicatessen involves an apartment block advertising for random strangers to come and 'work' doing oddjobs in the building, as a cover for their intentions to eat them. A former circus performer named Louisson turns up, and the building's quirky tenants (if you saw his more famous film Amelie, then you know what to expect here) are gradually torn apart by his ongoing presence.

At times the film seems to be a repetition of quirk, quirk, quirk, more QUIRKS! Vive le France! The plot somehow doesn't quite follow, and there are a few plot points that don't really get explained (what is he stashing the corn for? What happened to the one-legged guy? Why is that guy hogging all the snails and frog legs* and why didn't they just off him? How is he able to maintain that enviroment if nothing can grow? Where is all the TV coming from? If everyone seems to eat each other, how come Louisson seems so unaware of the reason he's there? Is Aurore's suicidal cycle because there's no cheese -- I would have killed myself when the Boursin was gone. I love that stuff!) while the climax seems a bit rushed.

It's the sort of film that I think you would find enjoyable once or twice, but which eventually would sort of wind you up (as Amelie does when you've seen it quite a lot).

*or is that one of those typical foreign film scenes where someone has to eat some unusual national delicacy so the audience will go 'WTF IS HE EATING???!!!' See also Jar City's takeaway sheep head

10 European films for when Eurovision's over

It's Oscars day today and in a departure from Eurovision stuff, and as a result of Eurovision exhaustion right now, I thought I'd do a list of 10 European films to watch, for when you get tired of Eurovision, and need something other than dodgy lyrics about jokers, smokers, the Jagger Mick and other such things. I've tried to pick from a spread of Europe, not just 10 french or german films. Please recommend me more foreign films, in the comments here if you like. I totally want some comments!

1:  Once, Ireland, 2007 

This is a semi-musical about two not-very-remarkable people in Dublin who both want to make music and end up sorta in love, except that she's already married to a Czech who is moving to Ireland soon, and he's off to chase down his girlfriend who scarpered to London some time back. Anyway, it's very sweet, unglamorous and fairly realistic. When you watch Ireland's recent Eurovision entries, and their total failure at being modern, I wonder why they've never looked at Marketa and Glen from this film and thought 'throw them some money and get them on the Eurovision stage.' They got a freaking Oscar for Best Song! Ireland does have musical talent!

2: No Man's Land, Bosnia, 2001

A straightforward film set in a 1990s no mans land area between the bosnians and the serbians where one of them is placed on a land mine, and it all goes a bit philosophical about war, life, death, and such things for a while before everyone gets killed. The ending is massively depressing.


3: The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany, 2008

This is an interesting, if perhaps flawed and not technically amazing, film about the rise and fall of 1970s German terrorist group the Red Army Faction. What's especially interesting about it is probably what a bunch of absolute wankers they seemed to be.


4:  Anna M, France, 2007

If you ever saw the twee/cutesy Audrey Tautou film He Loves Me He Loves Me Not,  where she has erotomania and stalks a doctor guy she imagines herself in love with, then Anna M is the darker, sinister version of that, with less narrative tricks that don't hold up on rewatching. This has a suicidal librarian and a somber and ugly physiotherapist, not a sweet pretty art student who can whimsically hide her tablets behind a wardrobe and a thematically-linked young handsome heart doctor.

5  Closely Observed Trains, Czech Republic, 1968

I came across this film in university when I had to read the book. It's more linear than the book, about a lad who works in a rural train station, who attempts suicide after he can't go the whole way with his girl in the time of the German occupation of the Czech Republic (or whatever it was back then, I lose track).


6  Control, UK, 2007

When people think of European films, they think of Foreign Language films. Since Ireland's here, I suppose it's only fair to include a good British film that has a Europe vibe about it anyway, being about a band whose post-punk style has its roots in 70s German rock, and was directed by Dutch photographer Anton Corbjin.

7 In Bruges, 2008, Ireland, in a sense...

I don't care what it officially says, I'm calling this one an Irish film. Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Martin Mcdonagh. It's an Irish film, whatever the title says. And I'm trying to make ten on my list. It's set in Bruges, that's in Belgium, that's in Europe. It totally counts. I need to see more foreign films.


8 Jar City, Iceland, 2006 

Why does that pregnant junkie daughter look familiar? Oh, it's Silvia Night! Guess the Eurovision rejection really did hit her hard. This film is basically a Scandinavian crime drama, about some lowlife found murdered and connected with a weird genetic brain disease that only four people have. It's got lots of shots of Iceland that make you think 'oooohh, pretty' and a particularly notable scene where the detective eats a sheeps eat from a takeaway, Google says it is a dish called svid . Probably better than going to a dodgy burger van, mind.

9 Tilsammans, Sweden, 2000

Fucking hippies, man. 

10 Three Colours: White French/Polish, 1994

The Three Colours trilogy is one of those default first-year film student things to watch. I never saw them till years later when a friend gave me Blue as a gift. I wasn't impressed. White, however, is quite good, and probably the only one of the three worth sticking with. The plot is a slightly off comedy about a Polish guy whose French wife dumps him because he's no good in bed (I think?) and he goes back to Poland with a guy who offers him some money to kill him, then he becomes successful in business and sets up his ex-wife as a criminal.





Honorable Mentions: Disco Pigs (Ireland), Bjarnfredarson (Iceland), Fucking Amal (Sweden), Goodbye Lenin, The Lost Honour of Katarina Blum, Volver, Persepolis -- Marjane Sartrapi's French-Iranian, so it counts,

National Finals and national singers

In this article on Ell and Nikki from Azerbaijan, someone in the comments wonders the following:

maybe it would have been better for them to sing an Azeri song in the ceremony because it's a bit strange that the people who won azerbaijans people of tge year award is doing a performance in English! Don't they ever sing any other songs together? Preferably in Azeri? 

Remember of course that Ell and Nikki don't spend any other time together (I'm not convinced they even like each other). They were only put together for that song, and have other careers going on, so naturally, they only ever sing that song. By this point, they must be glad that their victory lap is almost over and they can stop singing that song. 

But it raises an interesting question in the current eurovision climate. Where swedish songwriters are everywhere, where everyone sings in english, where the producers are big American hotshots, how 'national' is your nation's entry? 

It seems that for most nations the nationality of the performer matters. Ell and Nikki sang an English language song written by a Swedish/American team, but they still represented Azerbaijan, because they are from Azerbaijan. (Even if Nikki lives in London.)

If you're in the UK and you were a hardcore geek you might have watched that abysmal channel 5 documentary in2010 where Justin Lee Collins wanted to sing in the Eurovision, but not for the UK. Not surprisingly, he never got to. He tried his chances with Estonia, Andorra, and Ireland. Estonia would only allow an estonian citizen to enter. Andorra just didn't want to enter. 

It was his chance with Ireland where it got most interesting. It was suggested to Justin that he'd have a better chance with Ireland because they were closest to the UK, and they always had lots of singers from the UK. 

Technically, that's true. Dana was Ireland's first winner in the Eurovision, and she's from Derry, in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK. HOWEVER, someone in Channel 5's production needed a lesson in politics and geography. Northern Ireland, and being Irish or English is a bloody minefield. They're not called The Troubles for nothing!  The only UK people to represent Ireland at the Eurovision are Northern-Irish people, who presumably define themselves as Irish. Justin was on a hiding to nothing, since he's not remotely Irish.  I always thought the runner-up in Ireland's 2009 national, the Latvian Kristina Zaharova did quite well to come second. In the current form of the Eurovision where performers are the only symbol for the nation, it so matters what it says on their birth certificate. (Hence, it concerns me that Jedward represent Ireland!)

With the announcement of Željko Joksimović for Serbia, it seems fairly certain that once again they are retaining a very specific national sound, with a Serbian performer of ethno ballads. If you look at the rest of former Yugoslavia, all have chosen a  performer who is specifically born in their country, or in one of those tetchy disputed regions like Kosovo, as Rona Nishliu is. 

In fact, so far the only country that doesn't have a singer who was born in their country is the country that's usually very sensitive about their nationality is France, who have Anggun, who lived in Indonesia till she was twenty. Of course it's still very French. 

France, Sexy france

I used to go to uni with a person who described everything as sexy. It was very odd. Sexy coffee, sexy sandwiches, sexy fonts, sexy photocopiers.  But I digress. 

France released their sexy entry. In this very tiring national final season, it's nice when someone just saves you a lot of trouble and just picks the song. I mean, most of those shows only have two good songs in them anyway. Which the public never pick. (Plumbo? REALLY, NORWAY?)

In 2008 there was a sexy storm in a teacup when Sebastien Tellier sang part of 'Divine' in English. This year there doesn't seem to be the same fuss. The way this one was built up, I thought there'd be more English in it. Actually, it's limited to the chorus. I like the French bits better. 

So, the song? I'm not sure. It's got whistling. I don't know how I feel about whistling. It's what stalkers or murderers do to act normal. :S Maybe it's a grower. 

A sexy grower.