Sunday, March 15, 2015

April Shadows - Michel Henritzi














2013 | 52 min. | Black & White - Color | 4:3 | English, Japanese and French without subtitles.

"Things that are useless now but arouse a fond memory of the past." ーSei Shōnagon

Documentary film shot by Vincent Guilbert during one of Michel Henritzi trips to Tokyo in 2012 around his usical encounters with various Japanese artists... Yokohama no shadows, with  Michel Henritzi (guitar and lap-steel guitar) (voice) ; Akiko Hotaka (voice) ; A qui avec Gabriel (accordion) (voice) ; Tetuzi Akiyama (guitar) ; Shinichi Isohata (guitar) ; Cédric Lerouley ; Reiko Imanishi (koto) ; Rinjo Fukuoka (guitarra flamenca)...

Fragments of a journey, fragments of Time, fragments of memories, places, ephemeral moments, images and sounds, faces, useless details…
A descent into the depths of Tokyo’s night, the abstraction of its noises, dancing with its shadows.

Black and white, tight framing on some shadows that appear and die as the melodies are scattered, the white noise devours space in lives and studio sessions. Music that are invented in the camera's field of Vincent Guilbert. Hand movements on the strings of a guitar and the keys of an accordion on the faces out of the shadows, voices senior. This film is built around Michel Henritzi, its melodies drawing from the enka music, sound abstract blues, games deconstructed 4 hands with his accomplice Rinji Fukuoka. The fragile singing Akiko Hotaka opening film , the cry of Junko calling the night a final credits.