Pedro Costa Captures Singer Jeanne Balibar on Stage and in the Studio in Ne Change Rien

This is a revived version of a Line Out post from 2011 (without any notice, The Stranger purged every post from the internet some time after they pulled the plug on their music blog in 2014).

NE CHANGE RIEN / Change Nothing

(Pedro Costa, France, 2009, 103 minutes) 

Portugal's Pedro Costa spent several years making this meditative movie about the music of French actress and singer Jeanne Balibar. 

In the DVD liner notes, he confesses, "The idea of making a film that revolved around music scared me a little," but he proves himself a natural. 

Costa started shooting before making the acclaimed Colossal Youth, and picked up the thread afterwards. In both cases, he shot in black and white, but because he has no interest in artificial light, most scenes are shrouded in darkness, which fits the dusky alto's nocturnal style, but may frustrate those expecting a more conventional profile--at times, you can't see her at all. 

As with Nico, a possible influence, Balibar isn't the most expressive vocalist, but Costa prefers languid types, like Ventura, the real-life, mononymous figure who glides through Colossal Youth. 

There's no narration or forced storyline, but rather a series of rehearsals and performances in which Balibar talks, sings, smokes, and works things out with her band, making Ne Change Rien a snapshot of the creative process as much as the finished work. The same is true of Costa's 2001 documentary about Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie? 

Early on in the film, Balibar says, "We should really try to bring out the silences," which sounds like a description of the director's style (I first wrote about his work here). Costa also works in a voice lesson in which she receives instruction from an unseen coach. Though her ensemble includes bass, drums, and keyboards, voice and guitar always take center stage, resulting is a slow-motion mélange of jazz, chanson, and electronica. 

Like the minimalist works of Andy Warhol--especially 1966 film The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound--Ne Change Rien isn't for everybody, but fans of French pop and chiaroscuro music portraits like Bruce Weber's 1988 Chet Baker profile, Let's Get Lost, will surely find it of interest.

Ne Change Rien is available on home video through Cinema Guild. Special features include additional performances, musical sketches, promotional spots, and the static 2003 short The End of a Love Affair (I also reviewed the DVD for Video Librarian). For anyone who wants more in a similar vein, I would recommend Bertrand Bonello's 2012 concert film Ingrid Caven: Music and Voice. Jeanne Balibar images from Mubi and CineLuso / YouTube.