So there are at
least three different editions of Jean-Marc Vallée’s film C.R.A.Z.Y. on DVD: there’s the standard edition, a collector’s
edition and a Blu-ray. Why this is important is that to fully appreciate its
array of special features you would need all three of them.
The standard
edition is the only DVD that comes with the audio commentaries, which includes
ones by Vallée, the sound designer Martin Pinsonnault and production designer
Patrice Bricault-Vermette, and two other featurettes C.R.A.Z.Y. sur le plateau and C.R.A.Z.Y. à Venise. The Collector’s Edition and
the Blu-ray share many of the same special features: Making of featurettes on
the director Jean-Marc Vallée, the producer Pierre Even, and with the actors;
along with separate featurettes Émile’s
audition, Visual effects, Filming in Morocco and deleted scenes. With the
difference between the two is that the collector’s edition comes with a special
booklet and the Blu-ray has the best image quality out of all of them. I’ll
elaborate more fully on these special features later.
But that’s not
all. To best appreciate the Jean-Marc Vallée’s film there are some great books that elaborate on its meaning. First off there’s the C.R.A.Z.Y scénario (Éditions Somme
Toute) with the script, one of Vallée’s rare essays (a manifesto on his filmmaking)
and rare photographs from the production. Secondly Robert Schwartzwald’s new study on C.R.A.Z.Y. as part of the Queer Film
Classic series. And finally Vallée’s early film professor Yves Lever’s book L’analyse filmique (a valuable resource for a young Vallée when he was becoming a filmmaker). This last book
might be the most important of them all because it attempts to get to the
essentials of Jean-Marc Vallée’s art: the
mise en scène.
Isn't this not what Vallée, Pinsonnault and Bricault-Vermette are actually trying to articulate throughout their audio commentaries? And what makes their behind the scenes stories so fascinating is how it either shows or describes the creation of filmmaking into the mise en scène.
Isn't this not what Vallée, Pinsonnault and Bricault-Vermette are actually trying to articulate throughout their audio commentaries? And what makes their behind the scenes stories so fascinating is how it either shows or describes the creation of filmmaking into the mise en scène.
If Jean-Marc
Vallée is a private filmmaker – reluctant to take away from the experience of
watching his films by talking about them; and annoyed by the repetitive nature
of promotion (usually with uncaring film critics) – then these commentaries and
featurettes show him at his most open: generous, filled with energy and
emotion, and willing to do anything to protect his vision.
But then why is
it necessary to divide these features throughout different DVDs? I first heard of
the collector’s edition through the standard edition audio commentary where Vallée mentions the
deleted scenes (which aren't included). But if you only owned the collector’s edition then you wouldn’t
have access to his audio commentary. Something about this situation just doesn’t
make sense.
I would propose
a couple of reasons for these complications: among the nine full-length
features in his oeuvre (and among these only six that he acknowledges as his films) there is only two of them
with audio commentaries: C.R.A.Z.Y. and
Wild. Apparently Vallée recorded an
audio commentary for Café de flore,
which was never included on the DVD release. His newest feature Demolition doesn’t even include an
audio commentary.
So those who are sympathetic would acknowledge that he’s busy with an average of one feature every year and now two upcoming television series for HBO (Big Little Lies, Sharp Objects) or say that Vallée, just like Stanley Kubrick and Woody Allen, is reluctant to discuss his own films as he prefers them to speak for themselves, which I feel must be partly true as he describes himself more as a filmmaker by nature instead of necessarily a public speaker. But then why the mix-up of the special features on the C.R.A.Z.Y. DVD, not include the Café de flore audio commentary, or not have one for Demolition (which I’ll review in a future post)?
So those who are sympathetic would acknowledge that he’s busy with an average of one feature every year and now two upcoming television series for HBO (Big Little Lies, Sharp Objects) or say that Vallée, just like Stanley Kubrick and Woody Allen, is reluctant to discuss his own films as he prefers them to speak for themselves, which I feel must be partly true as he describes himself more as a filmmaker by nature instead of necessarily a public speaker. But then why the mix-up of the special features on the C.R.A.Z.Y. DVD, not include the Café de flore audio commentary, or not have one for Demolition (which I’ll review in a future post)?
Is it a
mismanagement or a lack of interest by the DVD vendors? Unfortunately, this
would be my guess… A simple enough job and effort could have gave these recent
masterpieces a commentary by Vallée, which would be of
value and interest for years to come. A missed opportunity…
***
On the C.R.A.Z.Y. special
features:
- The idea of
stars in the sky have an important place in Vallée’s cinema. The four-point star
of his production company, Crazy Film, is described as being influenced by his
‘lucky star’. This four-point star would appear as a tattoo on Raymond in C.R.A.Z.Y. and as a reoccurring symbol in Café
de flore (which ends with a character looking up and saying ‘It’s written in the stars’). And
Dominique Fortier, whose Du bon usage
des étoiles Vallée is planning to adapt, is already thanked in the credits
of C.R.A.Z.Y.
- Vallée has
already described C.R.A.Z.Y. as a film-prières, so then it's not
surprising to hear him cite Pasolini at the beginning of his own making-of. Just like how his earlier film professor Yves Lever was cast as the priest in Liste noire in these special features he discusses his reasons for playing the priest as a "lesson in humility." His dialogue as the character is especially important for the story such as after Raymond's passing, “Even in the face of death, we’re willing
to stake that the affirmation to live is stronger, as it comes from God.” An
essentially religious and spiritual filmmaker. Michel Côtée talks about how 150
candidates auditioned for the role but how Vallée finally chose himself (‘He’s
got connections!’).
- The somewhat
forgotten French filmmaker Bertrand Blier is an important reference for Vallée
(Merci la vie being a staple of
Lever’s syllabus). Early on in interviews Blier is regularly cited and described as
great; and supposedly Les valseuses was
the film that got Vallée into cinema. Perhaps his film that’s most in a
Blier tradition is Loser Love for
its frank portrayal of sex, aggression and transgression (an omitted film in
most of his filmographies, its New York setting anticipates that of Demolition by 15 years; and it themes
of domestic violence and a lengthy sociopath confession at its end connects it to his
upcoming Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects).
- On the editing
process (which quite a few of these are included in the deleted scenes) Vallée says, “One must not be scared to get rid of the start and ending of scenes
that are too long in one’s movies.”
- Music
references are in abundance in C.R.A.Z.Y.
and Vallée’s films in general:
The John Lennon death Time magazine
cover to transition to the eighties, the Janis Joplin t-shirt Zach wears;
Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious, Jim Morrison and Ian Curtis are character
influences; Pink Floyd, David Bowie and the Rolling Stones on the soundtrack.
Zach (though it’s never shown) is a DJ in the film…
- Not that it’s
much discussed or referenced directly in the film but Paulo Coelho’s book The Alchemist seems like a big
influence on the story’s structure: Zach has to travel abroad to Jerusalem
(actually Morocco, near where Welles shot Othello)
where Jesus walked to be able to find peace at home… This self-discovery
journey can be seen in all of Vallée’s subsequent films. (On the subject of
imagined Vallée adaptations, after this summer’s The BFG, Roald Dahl’s Danny,
the Champion of the World seems like it would be a great fit for him).
- So many
important details of the mise en scène
are nearly invisible: a character walking with his back-turned, posters that
you can’t really see, personal belongings that provide historical context etc.
Their unconscious value make the films a lot richer and full of meaning. Vallée’s audio-commentaries are extremely helpful to
make sense of all of these details.
- François
Boulay wrote a part of his life for Vallée around the time of Liste noire which forms the bases of C.R.A.Z.Y. But apparently it’s one of
Boulay’s friends that was ashamed and experienced queer guilt which really inspired the inner struggles of Zach and the structure of the film. Vallée would also add many of
his own family memories to the film.
- The behind the
scenes of the filmmaking is incredible as it provides the reverse-shot of the
many stories of Vallée’s unique filming approach. The footage of Émile Vallée
and his brother Alex and even their mother Chantal Cadieux show up in them which give it a home movie
quality. Vallée’s extremely animated on
set and his outfits change to reflect the type of scene he's filming.
- Vallée had a
bad first week on the set of C.R.A.Z.Y.
He was sick, impatient and horrorfied after having been forced to do some
budgetary scene cuts the previous week. After a week or so of filming,
and with the footage really working out, the crew eased up.
I could go on –
I mean it, I really could! – but I’ll leave the rest of the discoveries to
anyone willing to check out these amazing special features. More of Jean-Marc Vallée’s
films on DVD should be as rich in supplementary material!
Bon cinéma,
David Davidson
