Majoretten im Weltall (1997) Online

"Des majorettes dans l'espace" or "Majorettes in Space" is a French 6-minute short film from 1997, so this one has its 20th anniversary this year. It was written and directed by David Fourier and won him a BAFTA and gave him a great deal of other awards recognition. It's close to being a documentary, but just close I guess. It's not a problem that this one here has no really famous cast members as it is all about the narration and the images we see coming with it. Cosmonauts, gays and the Pope, the one from Poland still back then. And of course majorettes, how could I forget about them. But next to all its comedy, this film also has a great deal of truth to offer about discrimination against homosexuals most of all. It is a film that is just as important as it is entertaining. I watched the French really long film 120 BPM recently and in terms of tone and subject this one here fits so well together with that one it is pretty unreal. I would even say that this short we have at hand here could make a great DVD or Bluray add-on for 120 BPM. Back to majorettes now, it is fast, incredibly creative and I am sure you will find something new on second and third viewing too. A film to remember that deserves all the awards attention it received. I am not sure I enjoyed the watch today as much as I did back then years ago when I saw it the first time, but I'm tempted to say yes and also recommend a rewatch. Such a shame Fourier seems to have retired from filmmaking as this one here really got me curious about other works from him, preferrably new stuff. Majorettes is a definite contender for best short film from 1997 and it shows all those mediocre or even horrible gay-themed short films out there how it needs to be done. Highly recommended. This film makes a powerful statement, even if it is pretty well hidden.

First of all, I have to say that I laughed harder at this short film than I have at any film of any kind in literally years. The narration is hysterically funny precisely because it doesn't try too hard - it's like the guy you know who, in a perfectly serious tone of voice, says things that are unintentionally funny.

By the end, however, it has all tied together to present a very serious message. A lot of the humor is aimed at helping you see how idiotic and illogical anybody who would argue with the film's message is, and since I do agree with these filmmakers, kudos to them!

Am I really the first person in cyberspace to offer comment on these films? They are of varying quality but definitely worthy of more attention. Coming from the country that used to stigmatise homosexuality as being _la vice anglais_, a moniker that would today be more accurately applied to making slushy romantic comedies with Gwyneth Paltrow, these five short movies explore a wide range of responses to the gay experience. The first is worth the price of admission alone, at least here in Ireland where Arthouse cinemas are heavily subsidised: a riotously funny pythonesque fable demonstrating the sheer absurdity of homophobia which, in an ideal world all bible-belt queer-bashers would be forced to watch. The second is an inconsequential tale about a forgotton condom, the third a weird, disturbing tale exploring voyeurism and necrophilia. The fourth is more camp, a reversal of _The City and the Pillar_ in which a gay man discovers his latent heterosexuality. The fifth and longest casts a dark shadow over the rest, a story of an introverted drag queen and his young son. When I watched this film, most of the couples appeared to be in same-sex relationships: this is a shame, because these films deserve recogntion in a wider, non-gay audience.

"Des Majorettes Dans L'Espace" can easily be mistaken for a jumble of images only brought together by a very sharp commentary; in fact, they have been carefully chosen and form a perfectly coherent whole. This film is an extraordinary example of how the medium can actually be used to convey ideas without necessarily having to embed them in a sequential narration. A literary equivalent I can think of right away is those short stories of Borges or Calvino which are not quite stories but rather something between a story and an essay. "Majorettes" would be closer to Calvino (if an actual comparison of the kind were valid - it isn't, on that level) because of the humour. You start by laughing your head off because of the tremendous wit on display; by the end, you'll still be laughing - but some extremely serious issues will have been brought up. That it is left to the viewers to sit up and take notice if they want to is just another way in which "Majorettes" manages to bring entertainment and intellectual stimulation together.