Train, plane, bus or metro: public transport is now an integral part of our daily lives. So, rather than spoiling the data envelope of your package without commitment by strolling aimlessly on social networks, why not use the time spent on public transport to discover movies? Here is a small selection of 4 short films that fit perfectly for a journey of an hour or more.
The American Class
La Classe Américaine is a French TV movie, but don't run away right away! Here, nothing to do with Joséphine Ange Gardien. The American Class is a very special comic work, because it is only composed of excerpts from old films, edited together to create a brand new feature film. Michel Hazanavicius, the brilliant director behind OSS 117, makes here a true irreverent tribute to classic Hollywood cinema. At the turn of extracts of Western, dubbed for the occasion by the original French dubbers and connected to other scenes of emblematic films, journalists are responsible for investigating the death of Georges Abitbol, the classiest man in the world, whose last words ("world of!") remain very mysterious. In this absurd pastiche that cleverly diverts cinema, John Wayne meets Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman and Paul Newman, all united in the same investigation by the magic of editing. A real UFO of the French audiovisual landscape, short (only 1h10) which promises to provide you with an unlimited stock of quotes to bring out on any occasion.
This is Spinal Tap
Love The Office? Then you'll love Spinal Tap! Here, we continue in the pastiche and the comic: this 1984 film, directed by Rob Reiner, is a fake documentary (or mockumentary) following the career of a fictional British hard rock band in the 80s: Spinal Tap. Chaining improvised interviews, references to the world of music and rock, fake concerts and the whims of stars, the film stands out as a true comic masterpiece, which has become over time an essential cult object. Nothing is to be thrown away! We follow the setbacks of the group and its members all more crazy than the others, its artistic spat and their national tour that turns to disaster. The work is sprinkled with a very particular English humor, which is reminiscent of the style of the Monthy Python, and is punctuated by anthology scenes (we think in particular of the famous guitar amp that goes up to 11) The icing on the cake: the film lasts only 1h24, the time of a train trip or a long journey by public transport.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Here is now a film that will suit young and old. You have children to occupy and you are tired of watching the same 3 Disney movies on repeat? So, Fantastic Mr. Fox welcomes you with open arms. In this 2009 feature film, adapted from a novel, two worlds collide: the fantastic and dreamy world of Roald Dahl, children's author, and the colorful and melancholic world of visionary director Wes Anderson (Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, The Tenenbaum Family, Isle of Dogs, etc.). The result: a truly comfortable, soft and welcoming film. What better way to keep busy during a trip? If the film lasts only a little hour 27, it does not prevent it from being filled with crazy adventures and a very fine humor. This modern tale tells the story of Mr. Fox, his family and the animals of the forest struggling with three odious farmers who try to drive them out of their home. On the screen, a whole bunch of famous actors lend their voices to the animals of the forest animated in stop motion: we find Meryl Streep, George Clooney or Bill Murray. A short and intense adventure that can be devoured at any age, to discover or rediscover with immense pleasure.
What We Do in the Shadows
We finish with another mockumentary, this genre that borrows the codes of the documentary to divert them for a comic purpose. In this film, there is no question of life in the office or a rock band: What We Do in the Shadows offers you to follow the adventures of a group of vampires. Behind the camera of this comic feature film of 2014, we find Taika Waititi: while he had fun emasculating the heroic figure in Thor Ragnarok and ridiculing Hitler in Jojo Rabbit, the director takes a malicious pleasure in deconstructing the myth of the vampire. Through a gallery of colorful characters, Waititi gives himself to heart joy by imagining the daily life of these creatures of the night in the twenty-first century. If one of the taciturn vampires has sunk into depression since his encounter with "The Beast", the other, awkward and endearing, is desperate to find love. This feature film is full of ideas, and every minute transpires from the pleasure that the actors and the director take in proposing this modern and absurd reinterpretation of the vampire myth. The film was so popular that it was adapted into a TV series a few years later. A pure guilty pleasure with the look of delirium between friends, unpretentious and without great ambitions. Last argument; It lasts only 1h26, so you will not have time to get bored in front of this little nugget!
