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| French poster artwork for the family film The Field of Enchantment (La clé des champs). |
Microscopic
Marvels by Linh
The
Field of Enchantment - La clé des champs is the third film for
French directors/producers Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou, whose other
films Microcosmos and Genesis were delightful, illuminating
and amazing documentary films. This film shares similarities regarding the
beautifully filmed images captured with special photographic techniques.
However, for this film, there seems to be an attempt made on creating a simple
storyline to accompany the magnificent visuals of flora and fauna around a
small pond in the countryside.
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CHILDLIKE
CHARM: The boy (Simon Delagnes) and the girl (Lindsey Hénocque)
frolick in the field in the family film The
Field of Enchantment (La clé des champs).
Image: Thelma Films.
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A young unnamed boy (Simon Delagnes) is staying with his
adult cousins in the French countryside during the holidays but he soon gets
bored and finds enjoyment at a nearby pond. He becomes fascinated with the
creatures that inhabit the pond, even beginning to imagine the animals as having
human traits and behaving in ways similar to humans. Shortly, he notices
footsteps in the mud near the pond, and irises plucked from the side of the
pond. The next day, he discovers some poppies fashioned into dolls with red
dresses and hats. He is curious about the person who has intervened with things
he thinks should be left alone. When he returns to the pond a few days later,
he sees a girl (Lindsey Hénocque) wearing a red dress with red berries in her
hand and he chases her. The two lonely children become friends and share in the
enchantment of the pond.
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LIVELY
LIZARDS: A pair of lizards slow dance together in the family film
The Field of Enchantment (La clé des champs). Image: Thelma Films.
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This film is part nature documentary and part fiction.
Although the animals and their habitat are real, the editing makes them appear
slightly human, with their eyes looking into the camera in closeup shots, and
their bodies glistening in the sunlight or shimmering under moonlight.
Interestingly, the film is narrated by actor Denis Podalydès and seems to
suggest he may be looking back at his youth, and invites the viewers to see the
pond-life through the eyes of a child. His narration is whimsical and playful
as he describes the daily antics of the ants, frogs, dragonflies, lizards and
other creatures that inhabit the pond.
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FRIVOLOUS
FROGS: Two frogs share a pond reed in the family film The Field of Enchantment (La clé des champs). Image: Thelma
Films.
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The specially-created microscopic camera lens zoom in to
capture the features of the animals and using modern film-making technology,
the animals appear to move in sync to the glorious soundscapes courtesy of
composer Bruno Coulias. Viewers see the animals dancing, playing soccer or
challenging each other to sword fights, depending on the child’s imagination.
There are no animated special effects as all the visuals onscreen are a
combination of excellent editing and carefully filmed images of the creatures
going about their daily routines.
The
Field of Enchantment barely has any dialogue and mostly consists
of Podalydès’s narration. There are some silent moments in this film, perhaps
to suggest that silences in everyday life sound as equally beautiful as natural
sounds from the pond-life. Some viewers may feel restless during these silent
moments and long for the return of the animals and their antics as imagined by
the children. This film is definitely for lovers of nature documentaries who
don’t mind the addition of a story and good performances from the two young
actors. The cinematography is visually stunning and is an enjoyable departure
from Nuridsany’s and Pérennou’s previous two films that had no direct storyline
to complement the visuals.
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FLOWER
FROG: A frog seeks shelter from the rain under a flower in the
family film The Field of Enchantment
(La clé des champs). Image: Thelma
Films.
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Directors:
Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou
Writers: Claude
Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou
Cast:
Simon Delagnes, Lindsey Hénocque, Jean-Claude Ayrinhac, Denis Podalydès (voice-over
narrator)
Producers:
Claude Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou, Christine Gozlan, Catherine Bozorgan, David
Poirot
Cinematographers: Claude
Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou, Laurent Desmet, Laurent Charbonnier
Original
Music Composer: Bruno Coulais
Film
Editor: Joële Van Effenterre
Language:
French with English subtitles
Running
Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
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