Jean-François

Jean-François is a short film by illustrators/directors Tom Haugomat and Bruno Mangyoku that offers a wonderful example of continuous interspersing and blending of levels of subjectivity in narration. It jumps playfully between flashbacks (memories from childhood) and the present, at some points mixing mental elements with the “objective” POV both through image and sound.

Dealing with subjects that will resonate widely, such as success, loneliness, nature vs. the social/urban, a pending debt and the need to go back to moments of childhood, the film makes great use of sensory images that make it alive (breathing, swimming underwater, sounds of nature, the steps running on the street, the lights on the road, etc.).

Various elements are used to transmit an intimate atmosphere along with the internal conflict of the main character, including the emphasis on ambient sound, moments of silence during subjective POVs, sounds of breathing, close-ups of the main character and framing it in isolation. The short calls for repeated viewings in order to fully appreciate the details.