Les Bosquets

 

I don’t remember how this video came into my awareness several years ago now but I do know it haunts me to this day.

It is about the filming of a short called “Les Bosquets” which was preceded by a ballet for the New York City Ballet of the same name.  It is a story inspired by the 2005 Paris riots and the film returns to ground zero, as it were, to tell the story in music and dance.

Behind and surrounding the dance sequences you have the very real backdrops of poverty and yearning… real people with real struggles finding some joy and transcendence in music, in dance, in art.  

I love the brief scenes of curious children from that neighborhood smiling for the camera and hamming it up as the filming crew documents some of the surroundings between takes.

About three quarters of the way through this video the “sad remix” of Pharrell’s song “Happy” kicks in and emotionally destroys me in the best possible way.  It perfectly captures that profound mix of joy and sadness of the human condition in a way that the original pop version cannot.  It has been slowed and a minor key utilized with wistful orchestration added.  A powerful feeling of longing bypasses my defenses and hits me in some deep and neglected space that brings tears to my eyes.

And speaking of eyes, if you watch carefully there is a point when all of the dancers in the varied black and white body suits form one long line and you can see a giant pair of eyes looking back at you (see photo at the top).  It helps to not look at them directly, but focus somewhere just behind the line to see the patterned effect.

I have not been able to find the entire film online and I have not seen the NYCB performance, but somehow this 7 minute clip has been enough to give me the feel of what the filmmaker was trying to convey.  I’m not sure why it came back to mind today though as I write this it suddenly seems obvious that my subconscious brought it back to my awareness in light of this being an immigrant story and the challenges they face here and elsewhere.