Model Shop

I saw this movie when I was 17, and shortly thereafter decided that I had to move to Los Angeles. In the years since, MODEL SHOP has remained so unavailable and obscure that I was never sure if the movie was really good, or only good to an impressionable small-town 17-year old seduced by its dreamlike visuals of the big city.

After seeing it again at the American Cinematheque, I have to commend my younger self for having good taste. The unusual locations and spare, sun-bleached desert look give the film an almost hallucinatory air. Only an outsider to LA like Demy can find the poetic beauty in desolate beach cottages strewn among sand-blown paths and churning oil derricks.

Demy's story of one day in the life of a disillusioned architect conveys a rich emotion perched between confusion, love, fear and optimism. I can't wait to see it again...

It's always interesting to see a foriegner's view of America (i.e. Antonioni's ZABRISKE POINT, Malle's ATLANTIC CITY), and here, French director Demy's look at 60's L.A.. Looking back in hindsight, it's easy to pick out the details and even cliches that Demy found so fascinating (fashion, car culture, seemingly endless stretches of buildings & lights, psychedelic music (SPIRIT), drugs, underground newspapers, counterculture ideals and, inevitably, the Vietnam War).

The nominal plot is more just a day in the life (almost exactly 24 hours) of a layabout disaffected wannabe architect (Lockwood) who is in a loveless relationship with a pretty but insubstantial young thing (Hay), who meets a mysterious French woman (Aimee). Not much "happens", but the themes and details enumerated above all weave their way into this portrait of a "day in the life."

Unfortunately, Demy selected the dull Lockwood as his lead (it strains credulity to really believe he is a talented architect). Lockwood's lack of charisma is what reportedly led Stanley Kubrick to cast him as the dull uncharismatic astronaut in 2001 (you know the old joke, the most "human" of the characters in 2001 was HAL!). Aimee, despite her French hauteur and ennui, brings the only life to the acting (the less said about Hay the better).

In sum, a tiny slice of life in late 60's L.A.. Not grand, but of some note.

Technical note. The American Cinemateque debuted a striking NEW 35MM print over the July 4th Weekend. Perhaps, this will signal a few Revival House and Film Festival Screenings, as well as a first-time on Video/DVD debut.

The Model Shop which was made in 1969, is not out-dated today. Gary Lockwood plays a 26 year old who spends an entire day driving about town looking for something meaningful, as the threat of being drafted looms in the background. Clearly a somewhat typical 1960s film in the category of Summertree or Hail Hero, Lockwood has everything, but has nothing. Symbolism abound, and a great take on the American Dream. The film is low-key, as is Lockwood's performance. Unable to feel, or numbed by life's surroundings. Only after receiving his draft notice does Lockwood's character finally admits for the first time that he's afraid of what the future holds. The "Head in the Sand" feelings of many Americans in the 1960s who felt the war in Viet-Nam had nothing to do with them, is exposed here, until it's too late to feel, too late to care, and too late to love. The Model Shop is a "model" of modern film-making.

This is a terrific document of late 1960s Los Angeles. Lots of street scenes from the beach to the hills, and traffic to die for - if only we had to compete with that number of cars these days.

Anouk Aimée is the big star, with big hair and French insouciance, but Gary Lockwood is the real beauty here. Shame about his wooden acting, though his character is going to Vietnam to die, so perhaps he can be forgiven for the lack of emotion, and he has some cool 1960s friends to sponge from.

This is 1960s euro-nihilism in America, and while it doesn't hit the heights of great cinema, it's a cool reflection of the times.

This little seen Jaques Demy film is no lost masterpiece but is well worth catching. One of the most notable features is how well it captures a look of late sixties LA rarely seen in other movies. The story though is slight and the acting is uneven. Psychedelic rock fans should watch it to see the legendary Spirit - their music is on the soundtrack and they have a few lines. To sum up - an oddly interesting film not a great one.