A la Française

Coming from Supinfocom Arles, this crowd-based short features impressive aesthetic work and provides a fun look at the hypocritical behavior of the French aristocracy that inhabited the palace of Versailles some centuries ago (at a time when the palace was a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Kingdom of France).

A lot of work has been dedicated to character design. The choice of portraying the members of the aristocracy as chickens gave the authors a lot of room for playing with stylized animation and humor. The emphasis is placed on collective description and criticism, rather than focusing on a the in-depth development of specific characters.

Also, impressive work has been dedicated to the creation of the environments. Open spaces are described, as well as a detailed interior of the palace. The technical difficulties this implies (the need for matte paintings in some cases) may be the reason why the short relies mainly on editing and movement within the frame for visual rhythm, while mostly employing static cameras.

The situations depicted in the film are usually presented from the POV of a character that keeps record of the secrets of the palace, which is used as a narrative device to help weave the different situations presented in the story together.

According to the authors, the character that writes the notes about the court’s activities and indiscretions is a reference to Madame de Sévigné, a French aristocrat known for her letter-writing, in which she amusingly described court ceremonies and experiences from the 17th century (among other things).

The statue from the final shot was inspired by Eugène Delacroix’s painting “Liberty Leading the People“.