Comments on: THE SEASHELL AND THE CLERGYMAN http://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/reviews/2007/05/03/the-seashell-and-the-clergyman/ A Deviant View of Cinema - Film, DVD & Book Reviews Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:28:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Lamar Cole http://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/reviews/2007/05/03/the-seashell-and-the-clergyman/comment-page-1/#comment-2633 Lamar Cole Sat, 15 Dec 2007 13:00:40 +0000 http://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/reviews/2007/05/03/the-seashell-and-the-clergyman/#comment-2633 Just as the sound of the sea flows through a seashell, the sound of love flows through the heart. Just as the sound of the sea flows through a seashell, the sound of love flows through the heart.

]]> By: Minima http://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/reviews/2007/05/03/the-seashell-and-the-clergyman/comment-page-1/#comment-1076 Minima Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:04:04 +0000 http://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/reviews/2007/05/03/the-seashell-and-the-clergyman/#comment-1076 Thank you for the review. I found your piece a few weeks ago but only now after revisiting a few times do I feel I have to reply. I agree with a lot of what you say about our music - it is definitely a conscious attempt to interpret Dulac's film, but it is no more so than Dulac's film is an interpretation of Artaud's screenplay. Critics at the time were confounded about where to place this film - they were unable to fit it neatly into a box; this is perhaps one reason it has been neglected over the years. It was made at the time of the Surrealists and had so many associations with the movement but is, as you quite rightly say, an exercise in visual lyricism. The BBFC's famous "so cryptic as to be almost meaningless" quote is indeed amusing - we make sure we cite it whenever we play. However, let's be clear: it is famous for... being ridiculous! It is not to be taken seriously. You say "these words are also clearly what the musical score ... has forgotten." Well, quite! This technically magnificent gem of a film is very different to the Surrealist fare of the time; if you take the film apart, you'll very quickly see evidence of Dulac's musical background. The cuts in the film are precise in length; the film is meticulously arranged into mathematical patterns, making it hard to believe that this is any free association of ideas. The narrative element is very strong and the themes of guilt and conflict are clear. My own feeling is that the film's end doesn't just mirror the beginning, it leads back to it; the clergyman is doomed to remain stuck forever in his cycle of tormented desire. It's wonderful that "The Seashell and the Clergyman" is still uniting and dividing people 80 years on. Dulac would have been very happy about this! Whether she would have approved of our music is anyone's guess, but we've had a lot of good reactions to our shows; we feel very encouraged and excited about the project. Judge for yourselves... you can view and download samples of the film with a live recording of our soundtrack. There's a link to the clips on this page - www.myspace.com/minimaband - along with info including details of our up-coming dates at the Barbican and the Cine Lumiere in London. Thank you for the review. I found your piece a few weeks ago but only now after revisiting a few times do I feel I have to reply. I agree with a lot of what you say about our music – it is definitely a conscious attempt to interpret Dulac’s film, but it is no more so than Dulac’s film is an interpretation of Artaud’s screenplay. Critics at the time were confounded about where to place this film – they were unable to fit it neatly into a box; this is perhaps one reason it has been neglected over the years. It was made at the time of the Surrealists and had so many associations with the movement but is, as you quite rightly say, an exercise in visual lyricism. The BBFC’s famous “so cryptic as to be almost meaningless” quote is indeed amusing – we make sure we cite it whenever we play. However, let’s be clear: it is famous for… being ridiculous! It is not to be taken seriously. You say “these words are also clearly what the musical score … has forgotten.” Well, quite!

This technically magnificent gem of a film is very different to the Surrealist fare of the time; if you take the film apart, you’ll very quickly see evidence of Dulac’s musical background. The cuts in the film are precise in length; the film is meticulously arranged into mathematical patterns, making it hard to believe that this is any free association of ideas. The narrative element is very strong and the themes of guilt and conflict are clear. My own feeling is that the film’s end doesn’t just mirror the beginning, it leads back to it; the clergyman is doomed to remain stuck forever in his cycle of tormented desire.

It’s wonderful that “The Seashell and the Clergyman” is still uniting and dividing people 80 years on. Dulac would have been very happy about this! Whether she would have approved of our music is anyone’s guess, but we’ve had a lot of good reactions to our shows; we feel very encouraged and excited about the project. Judge for yourselves… you can view and download samples of the film with a live recording of our soundtrack. There’s a link to the clips on this page – http://www.myspace.com/minimaband – along with info including details of our up-coming dates at the Barbican and the Cine Lumiere in London.

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