“In the films of Méliès, it is the whole world of gilt-edged books from awards ceremonies that comes to life; the world of fairy tales revisited by the magic lantern, the world of a trip around the globe, of famous tightrope walkers and illusionists, of fake, plush-fringed Gothic furniture.” (Henri Langlois, undated note, La Cinémathèque française administrative archives).

Humanity’s dream to conquer the universe has always been motivated by curiosity, a thirst to know what lies beyond our borders, our universe, and if other inhabited worlds exist. It is likely the most natural thing the mind does, travelling through time and space, and cinema is the ideal companion. By train, by sea, by air, and even by Automabouloff to Monte Carlo in record time, and not without irony, we will explore locomotion, adventure, and expedition – along with the wondrous world of dreams with Rip van Winkle.
Screening a work by Méliès also always provides an opportunity to rethink the cinema-spectacle, built on the elements of attraction surrounding the event: set design, commentary, patter, music, sound effects.

Research conducted by Jacques Malthête has made it possible to access Méliès’s written commentaries. Somewhere between a storyteller and a lecturer, the raconteur brings the scenes to life and can help elucidate certain fragments or stories that are unclear without words. As such, two restorations based on hand-painted copies (thanks to an extraordinary donation by Madeleine Malthête Méliès and the Auboin-Ver-morel collection) will be presented with historical boniments by Julie Linquette.

“This word, taken from the vocabulary of old conjurers, has no equivalent in the French language. How, indeed, can one express what is said while performing a trick? It is not a speech, let alone a lecture, a narrative or a description. The boniment is simply the patter meant to give each sleight-of-hand trick the appearance of truth.” (Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin)

Émilie Cauquy