C'était un rendez-vous

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Movie
German title C'était un rendez-vous
Original title C'était un rendez-vous
Country of production France
original language French
Publishing year 1976
length 8:39 minutes
Rod
Director Claude Lelouch
script Claude Lelouch
production Claude Lelouch
camera Claude Lelouch
occupation

C'était un rendez-vous is a French short film directed by Claude Lelouch in 1976.

The nearly nine-minute film shows the breakneck drive of a car through early morning Paris on a Sunday in August. Lelouch covered the distance from the Porte Dauphine to the Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre on Montmartre in less than eight minutes (unedited journey in the film from 0:17 to 8:13). For this he used a Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 , and not, as several suspected, a Ferrari 275 GTB . For a long time it had been speculated that a professional racing driver like Jacky Ickx or Jacques Laffite would have been behind the wheel .

Lelouch himself claimed to have driven top speeds of more than 200 km / h. He was later withdrawn from his driver's license by the police prefect because of multiple violations of the speed limit and red light symbols - for five minutes in order not to lose the favor of his daughter, who was enthusiastic about the film and director.

The camera was mounted on the front bumper and the film was shot without editing because Lelouch had a roll of film left over from the film A Touch of Tenderness that had just been shot and wanted to make a short film instead of returning it. The Mercedes-Benz was used for the actual drive because it combined a powerful engine with 210 kW and a maximum torque of 550 Nm at 3000 rpm with a hydropneumatic chassis , the suspension properties of which allow the almost blur-free images on the mostly cobblestone streets Paris' made possible. If the camera had been attached to a sports car with a typically rather hard suspension, the vibrations would have produced an unstable image while driving. In order to do justice to the cinematic dramaturgy of a daring rush through Paris acoustically, Lelouch later had the bitter engine sound of the Ferrari, which drove again exactly the same route, over the original soundtrack of the Mercedes. It remained with this one alienation. According to the opening credits, the film was finished uncut, without special effects and without time-lapse ("... sans aucun trucage ni accéléré.").

During the trip, two other people sat in the car next to Lelouch: his cameraman and his key grip . Another assistant was waiting along the route with a radio to announce the clear passage of the arcade to the Jardin du Carrousel. If necessary, Lelouch would have had to change to the oncoming lane in good time in order to take the left through-passage. The woman running up the stairs at the end of the film was Lelouch's then partner Gunilla Friden, whose Mini Cooper can be seen on the parking strip below Sacré-Cœur . Before the start of the journey, they agreed on the expected arrival time via the telephone booth, in which she had to climb the last stairs, in order to finally embrace the exiting driver at the level of the headlights. The title of the film alludes to this final scene (German: "It was a rendezvous "), in which two lovers meet again on the romantic hill in front of the beautiful panorama of Paris. The rush of the driver, disregarding any red light signs and speed restrictions, should indicate the intimate relationship with the waiting partner. In an interview (2006), Lelouch speaks of a special kind of declaration of love in view of the imponderables and the dangers the protagonist has taken on.

The rock band Snow Patrol used the film for their music video Open Your Eyes (2007) with permission from Lelouch .

Covered track

Covered track

Tunnel on the Boulevard périphérique at Porte Dauphine → Avenue Foch → Arc de Triomphe → Avenue des Champs-Élysées → Place de la Concorde → Quai des Tuileries → Louvre : Jardin du Carrousel → Grand Opéra Paris → Galeries Lafayette → Trinité → Pigalle → Boulevard de Clichy → Place Blanche → Rue Caulaincourt → up Montmartre → Avenue Junot → Rue Norvins → Place du Tertre → Sacré-Cœur

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This is proven by an evaluation of time and distance, which determines a peak value of 220 km / h.