DISCOVER C’ETAIT UN RENDEZ VOUS

c’etait un rendez vous is a short film that claude lelouch shot in paris in 1976.

it was used in 2007 by snow patrol, in an abridged version, as the video for their single open your eyes. since i am not a big fan, i have only seen the video once and completely forgot everything about it but the visuals. by chance, i saw the original, full-length film in belgium, years later. at first i thought their video had been only inspired by it.

and yesterday, we woke up late and my bf had a earworm: snow patrol’s called out in the dark. and youtube, helpful as usual, offered the option to watch open your eyes and i was finally able to connect the dots.

i love empty cities so lelouch’s short is right up my alley: shot in one take cinema-verite. i can dream about having paris all to my self, at my feet, all flooded by day-break fog. the city is the main character and, if you love it like i do, you will find it easier to be entranced by the film. knowing the highlights of the 10km route doesn’t hurt either. and one of the best vantage points in the city, the square and stairs in front of the sacre coeur basilica, is usually a spot shared with thousands of others. i think having it and the entire paris to yourself is definitely worth waking up at five for.

here you have the original film, in all its 8:39 glory. the soundtrack is the rumble of the speeding car.

and here you have the video. they used the final 5:51 minutes to fit the length of their song.

i hope you enjoy them both!

photo and video credits: claude lelouch

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