Let it guide our feelings

French post-wave stylist LEOS CARAX likes to use pop music to guide his scenes, often from DAVID BOWIE, and often with his favorite actor DENIS LEVANT jumping around and/or dancing.

This clip, from the 1986 film MAUVAIS SANG (Bad Blood) might just be one of my favorite scenes ever. The spirit of the New Wave and the deep romanticism of CARAX anchor the scene, but LEVANT's exuberant run down the street to MODERN LOVE is what made it famous.

Don't Follow Me

The duo known as GNARLS BARKLEY can be counted on to make creative and singular music videos to match their uncompromising R&B esoterica music. This clip for their great recent single GOING ON was shot in Jamaica, and features its fair share of choreographed dancing, against a classic metaphysical tall tale.

Elephant in the room

The poetry of GUS VAN SANT's steady cam is rarely as affecting to me as in this early scene from ELEPHANT. In one fell sweep, we are introduced to a number of characters and the everyday scenes of a high school, from the football field to the hallways.

But what drives this scene, more than the floating eminance of the camera, is the way the soundtrack weaves in and out of environmental sounds and musical accompaniment, in this case MOONLIGHT SONATA, which is reprised later in the film when it is played on a piano in a character's bedroom.

Punch In

Here we have a fan-made video of the Nintendo classic MIKE TYSON'S PUNCH OUT, showcasing one gamer's run to the finish, only taking one punch. Growing up with two older brothers, I spent a lot of time watching others play video games, basically waiting for my turn. Being the youngest son, my turn didn't always come, but I came to enjoy watching the little movies video games provided without actually playing them.

The game-play of PUNCH OUT, like most early Nintendo, is quite simple, limited to one background, and based on learned movements and patterns. Years later, when I returned to this game, I made the comment that what the game boils down to is simply learning the "dance" of all the characters.

I realize gaming has become more cinematic, but my experience never went much further than Nintendo. I don't expect anyone to make it through the entire video, but know, for me, this is probably the first structuralist film with which I became fascinated.