Thanks to the release of Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood, SBS OnDemand have added several films from the late 1960s presented by Quentin Tarantino and film critic Kim Morgan. One that I was keen to see was Model Shop (1969), directed by Jacques Demy (of The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg) while he was in America with his wife Agnes Varda. A seemingly aimless narrative that takes place over a day or two, it mainly follows George Matthews (Gary Lockwood from 2001), an unemployed architect who is drifting apart from his actor girlfriend Gloria (Alexandra Hay), and how he spends a day trying to find a hundred bucks to pay off the repo men from taking his car. As George drives across L.A. in his open top vehicle, loving the city and how it looks in the sunlight, he becomes distracted by the sight of a French model Lola (Anouk Aimée) who he begins to follow, discovering she works in a ‘Model Shop’, a place where men can pay money to photograph the models inside. Demy is enamoured with the sprawling city and simply takes note of the lifestyle and the counter-culture, not as didactically or over-the-top as other directors might, exaggerating the ‘with it’ qualities of the band or the street press that George visits. The big problem that hangs over George’s head is the Draft for the Vietnam War and the existential fear that causes, which starts to colour the aimlessness with a whole other meaning. I thought Model Shop was great, observational and artful. Lockwood is good in the lead; while his character might come off as creepy or petulant, he also finds the vulnerability and lost quality of the guy right up to the haunting closing scene. Aimée, continuing a character she had played in other films by Demy, is also very good, finding the assuredness and contained sense of self in the ex-pat model dealing with her own problems. Even though a rock band named Spirit contributed songs to the soundtrack, Lockwood’s character tends to drive around listening to classical music and not simply just groovy tunes on the radio. Recommended.
VHS Tracking 