Casa Film don 10 sept 2015 “Dans la ville blanche” – Directed by Alain Tanner

Dans la ville blanche
In the white city is choosed by Jeffrey and here he tells us why this movie is important to be seen. Jeffrey: "The films of Swiss director Alain Tanner (Jonas will be 25... ) are some of the  sharpest of the last century. Sadly they have been pushed-aside and trashed by our commercial film distribution industry. Although his movies are not really  political, they are indeed focused on characters who seek alternatives to our mass-media consumer society. People who have had it with compromising, who are tired of the rat-race of modern civilization, and are looking for something more meaningful and sincere (and exciting)."

Places to hang out
In this film a sailor (Bruno Ganz- Der Untergang, Wings of Desire) decides to jump ship and hang out in Lisbon for awhile. Jeffrey: "Today we have a tourist world, where traveling means a quick stop to a foreign city which has been embedded with everything you already know (Starbucks, all the international chain stores). But when I use to travel in the 80s, I would go and stay someplace for 4 months minimum. I'd really live in a place, and chose places to hang out that were unknown, exotic, off-beat and therefore full of mystery. I chose for what I didn't know. In this film, the main character is doing the same."

Lonesome jazz musical

IN THE WHITE CITY, Bruno Ganz, Teresa Madruga, 1983

He spends his time soaking in the atmosphere, shooting 8mm films, and writing letters. He meets a cute bartender who works downstairs, and they become lovers. This is a moody and reflective movie, and one that throws a wrench into the gears of the modern world, and which opts for an alternative. Dans la ville blanche is unrushed, set to the pace of Lisbon itself, and features a superb lonesome jazz musical score by Jean-Luc Barbierand.