Nebraska Adventures

Although this blog post is only tangentially related to Nebraska adventures (that tangential relation mostly being the word “adventures”), this film positively begged to be re-introduced to a new audience.

Shot in a single take in Paris in 1976, director Claude LeLoche mounted a camera to the front bumper of his car (a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9). Early one morning, LeLoche plopped behind the steering wheel and tore through the streets of Paris, leaving $200 worth of rubber on ancient cobblestone, scattering pigeons, running red lights, and giving viewers a breakneck-speed tour of the city of lights. The result is C'etait un Rendezvous (It Was a Date), a testosterone-addled, white-knuckle example of cinéma-vérité that makes The Fast and the Furious look like High School Musical.

On one hand, it is a daring and imaginative (albeit dangerous) project, one that fully mesmerizes viewers during its 10-minute run time. On the other hand, it serves as a reminder to bike commuters, pedestrians, and pigeons to always be aware of what’s going on around you—don’t take anything, even that walk signal or the fact that cross-traffic has a red light, for granted, or you could be road kill.

Note: Just yesterday, the entire movie was on youtube; however, today, I can only find a sampling the video. Regardless, you’ll get the idea. Enjoy!