Films by Sylvain Malin (Who Likes Jean Rollin)
If you like Jean Rollin, you will likely also love films of a young French
director—Sylvain Malin. From this article, you will understand why.
Since 2007, Sylvain Malin has directed four short films, and he is currently
working on his fifth one. Let’s start with an overview of his most
“rollinesque” film titled Manon.
Manon, 2016
Manon is a short fantasy film that has a haunted, tensed, and mysterious vibe.
While it contains references to the films of Rollin, it’s authentic enough to
be interesting on its own. For example, contrary to Rollin, whose trademark
are hilarious and cute flaws caused by the lack of budget or simple
negligence, there isn’t anything like that in Manon. It’s a well-made fantasy
film with a vibe of a ghost story.
Now, here is what Sylvain is saying about it himself:
Sylvain Malin About The Film
Manon is the third film I directed. Its idea partially came from a
surrealistic trip inspired by a nightmare that I used to see on a recurring
basis. In my dreams there was a soon-to-be married girl committing all kinds
of mischief.
I wrote the first version partially by using
automatic writing [psychography]
that I shared with the members of my company—Le ciné mayenne club/OANI. They liked it and many of them saw similarities with the universe of Jean
Rollin—a director who inspired us a lot at that time. In particular, the
character of the Clown who reminded us of the one from
The Iron Rose.
Little by little, the story of the bride becomes clearer. Her double
personality issue makes her gradually lose the connection with reality. She
attacks the symbols of her enslavement: the priest symbolizes the religion,
her future husband—the conformism of the bourgeois, and the mother—the grip of
the family.
The film had good feedback in the specialized printed media. An article was
dedicated to it in the monthly issue of L'écran fantastique, as well as
different fanzines dedicated to B-movies such as Medusa and
Videotopsie.
Right now I’m looking for distributors of B-movies who would release
Manon as a bonus together with some other film.
Official Trailer
Where to Watch Manon
Manon is available for online streaming on Redemption TV (with English subtitles).
La danse des sauvages (The Dance of the Wild), 2018
Another film that Sylvain shared with me is his next work after
Manon—La danse des sauvages. It’s a heartbreaking tragic story
that made me think about it for a couple of days after watching.
Sylvain Malin About the Film
Afterwards, I shot another film—La danse des sauvages [The Dance of the Wild]. A medium length film of 40 minutes.
The events in this story are taking place at the end of the 19th century. This
story is about the destiny of a young man from an aristocratic family who
falls in love with a wild girl. The main character’s family doesn’t appreciate
such a relationship and is trying to intervene by all means. This film is less
“rollinesque”, but it contains, nevertheless, a reference to
The Iron Rose—the lovemaking scene in a crypt.
Official Trailer
Where to Get La danse des sauvages
La danse des sauvages is available:
- for streaming on Redemption TV (with English subtitles)
- on DVD (in French only) for €8 (plus shipping fees). It includes bonuses such as “making of” and bloopers.
- as a digital file (in French only): €5.
- For the most hardcore and heavy metal fans of Sylvain’s films, there are also posters available for €3.
To order the film (except for streaming it on Redemption TV), contact Sylvain at sylem53 [at] hotmail.com
I Love You (2013)
I Love You is another short film (8 minutes long). It deserves another
section in this article just because it’s about an extraterrestrial who falls
in love with his neigbor.
For French-speaking readers (and for those who knows how to use automatic transalation), I also suggest this article containing an informative interview with Sylvain Malin composed by Isadora Groove and published in her blog.
Sylvain Malin’s Filmography
- Premier sermon [The First Sermon] (2007), watch online on YouTube
- I love you (2013)
- Manon (2016)
- La danse des sauvages [The Dance of the Wild] (2018)
-
l'île diabolique (2023)
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