Sound And Vision: Sylvain Chomet

In the article series Sound and Vision we take a look at music videos from notable directors. This week we take a look at Stromae's Carmen directed by Sylvain Chomet.

Sylvain Chomet made a big impression with his first feature, Les Triplettes de Belleville, one of the best animated features of the early aughts. Chomets style as an animator can be best described as "master of caricatures". He pushes the bodily aesthetics of his characters to such an extreme, like a good caricaturist, that they literally seem to embody their bodily differences. Someone who is lanky, is not just lanky, he is gaunt. A waiter who bends over backwards to please, literally does so, having a back so curved that he seems more like a half circle than a human body.

Even in his live action films the style is pushed to the extreme. It is no mistake that his first life action short, an entry in Paris Je T'Aime, is about mime players, with pantomime and animation being close in the way they exaggerate the body and its movements. All to suggest something larger than life and iconic.

This quality is certainly present in his music video for Stromae's Carmen. Stromae, Europe's biggest pop star, is known for his socially conscious lyrics, and his performance style which builds on interpretative dance and pantomime. He is a right fit for the style of Chomet, with his big ears, and tall, striking figure. He is immediately recognizable, as are other parodied stars and figures like Lady Gaga, Obama and Queen Elizabeth.

It is especially disappointing that the song itself is a bit of a screed. An exploration of social media behavior, that paints with big strokes, and no nuance isn't that bad for a 3 minute song. But adding very strong visuals to it, makes it feel blunt force. This is not adding to the effect, it is doubling down and therefore weakening its force. Sylvain Chomet sets out for satire, but instead hits upon the music video animation equivalent of a boomer cartoon. He has done way better things.