Discover some of my influences...
I don't know to what extent my photography is influenced by my reading and viewing. But what is certain is that I wouldn't be the man I am today without reading and cinema.
Here are some of the works that have left their mark on me and that, in one way or another, I always carry with me. At least in a corner of my mind.
Littérature
The Mockingbird, by Walter Tevis (1980).
A dystopian novel describing a drug-addled world where nothing works anymore. But just as mankind seems to be slowly heading for extinction, a man and a woman learn to read.
A beautiful fable about the importance of reading, love and family. This book reminds us that nothing is ever lost, and that everything can be reborn as long as a man and a woman are ready to build something together.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare.
My relationship with this Shakespeare play is very personal, as I was lucky enough to perform it - under excellent conditions - when I was in high school.
What can you say about the greatest playwright in human history? And about this play in particular ? About those couples who form and deform as the love potion is applied ? About this play within a play ? About this marvelous, fantastic universe, where fairies, elves and goblins live side by side with mortals?
What I retain from this work is first and foremost the pleasure of playing Theseus and Oberon - and yes, that was a lot of text to remember.
And the text is magnificent.
Christopher Priest's Glamour (1984).
In a way, it's a love story - but it's much more than that. It's a story about point of view and memory. It's also the story of a cameraman who makes himself almost invisible. In a way, it's an exploration of reality and our perceptions.
And blending into the background to explore the reality of our perceptions is kind of the definition of a photographer's work, don't you think?
The Valley of the Moon, by Jack London (1913).
It's the story of a working-class couple. Overwhelmed by the hardships of city life, they decide to leave the city in search of the perfect place to build their home. So they set off along the roads of California to find their happiness, their "valley of the moon".
A beautiful, moving tale that inspires faith in the future.
Les Jardins statuaires, by Jacques Abeille (1982).
How to describe this novel? We could simply say that it's an exploration of a land where statues grow and are cultivated. Yes, grown, like lettuce. Underneath these rather strange premises, surrealist writer Jacques Abeille offers us a superb, spellbinding philosophical tale.
It's a hard book to get into, but well worth hanging on to.
Cinema
La double vie de Véronique, directed by Krzysztof Kie?lowski (1991).
A Franco-Polish film about the intertwined lives of Weronika in Poland and Véronique in France. I'm probably not very objective, because this film is a bit like my musical madeleine de Proust. My mother used to listen to the soundtrack over and over again when I was 4 or 5, and I can't listen to this music without my heart sinking.
So, what's this film about? Actually, it's not that important. What this film has to offer us is an emotional journey verging on the sublime.
Heaven's Gate, directed by Michael Cimino (1980).
If I wanted to tease, I'd say that this is the film that, through its production hazards, killed off the "New Hollywood" and put an end to the reign of the auteurs. But above all, it's a superb historical fresco on a little-known episode in American history, with Isabelle Huppert at the center of a beautiful and touching love triangle.
A great Western, and, dare I say it? a true masterpiece.
Decision to leave, directed by Park Chan-wook (2022).
It begins as a police investigation into the accidental death of a man and suspicions about his wife. It becomes a beautiful, tragic love story, sublimated by splendid direction.
The Lobster, directed by Yórgos Lánthimos (2015).
You have 45 days to find your soulmate, or you'll be turned into an animal. An absurd tale, with a delightfully British sense of humor (despite the fact that the director is Greek), but also a fable about the injunction to happiness, both terrifying and hilarious. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll come away shaken.
Brothers, directed by Jim Sheridan (2009).
When Nathalie Portman, Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal are in the same film, what else can you expect but the best? An emotionally moving film that will leave you breathless. And a special mention to Bailee Madison, who manages to steal the show in one scene, even though she was only 9 years old at the time of filming.
It's about time, directed by Richard Curtis (2013).
At first, it seems like a funny but unpretentious film about time travel. Then we discover a particularly charming romantic comedy. And after a while, you realize you're watching a beautiful and touching tale about the passage of time and the importance of enjoying life's pleasures every day.
