IS
IT POSSIBLE TO IMAGINE THAT ASTERIX HAS PROPELLED THE FRENCH
CANDIDATE'S XENOPHOBIC POLICY?
The
advance of neo-fascism in Europe proceeded this weekend
with the surprising (?) voting of Jean-Marie Le Pen, extreme
right wing candidate to President of France. Thus, Le Pen
is going to the second round of the presidency dispute with
the present president, Jacques Chirac. What does cinema
have to do with it? Unfortunately it seems to have something.
Le
Pen's right-winged haunting speech is xenophobic and talks
about national defense, of patriotism above all interests,
France for the French, the expulsion of immigrants and other
alike barbarities. We have heard this hoarse hysterical
appeal in other languages: "Deutschland über alles/
Germany above all", for example, shout by Hitler.
It
is understandable that the extreme-right candidate has advanced
into collective imagination full of the national success
of the new delicious comedy "Astérix et Obélix:
Mission Cléopâtre", by Alain Chabat. The
film is a national phenomenon and is close to be the best
seen in all French cinema history. Until last Friday it
registered 13 937 009 spectators. To break the record, the
new "Asterix" has to overcome the 17,2 million
viewers of a 1966 film, another comedy, "La Grande
Vadrouille", by Gerard Oury ('Jornal da Mostra' # 70
- 09/4/2002).
When
the duo Uderzo and René Goscinny created Asterix
and Obelix, their fun metaphors were about the forces of
the Roman Empire that couldn't take over the Gaulish territory.
During the elections campaign, confuse and lazy, according
to some international observers, the publicity expenses
in the "Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre"
release was equally millionaire, to justify the most expensive
production in all-time French cinema, 50 million Euros.
It
isn't impossible to imagine the crossing, in the minds of
the voters, of the primitive and fun principles of Asterix
and his villagers about homeland defense, defense of the
culture, fight against foreign invasion, with the sordid
campaigns by the politicians. The campaign to make of "Asterix"
the greatest audience record in the beginning of this third
millennium adds to this election levering. The price of
success can always be explained by a Mephistopheles. Or
Goethe's "Faust", or even in the movies, "Faust",
by Murnau.
FROM THE READERS
I
am a movie critic here in Belém, Pará and
a habitué at São Paulo IFF. I've been reading
your newsletter and take this chance to compliment you.
But the reason of this mail is the great Sokurov. I am glad
to know that, after the note about the new film by the Russian
filmmaker, other lovers of his cinema have manifested themselves.
I here join them in pledging for a retrospective of his
work at the 26th São Paulo IFF.
Adolfo Gomes
maior
recorde de público neste princípio de terceiro milênio.
O preço do sucesso tem sempre um Mefistófeles que
explica. Ou o "Fausto" de Goethe ou ainda no cinema,
o "
