CINÉMA DE LA PLAGE – Polyester by John Waters: a film for the senses

This evening Cinéma de la Plage will be offering a projection for the eyes and the senses! Polyester was created with odorama technology: thanks to little cards with numbered boxes, the viewer can smell the same smells as the characters throughout the film. A historic projection on the Croisette.

Polyester recounts the odorous adventures of a less than perfect family: the mother is alcoholic, the father runs a pornographic cinema, the son is a toe-crushing glue sniffer and the daughter is a nymphomaniac! The mother’s encounter with an ageing playboy upsets the precarious balance of this charming family.

John Waters was born in Baltimore and the city has remained the setting of all his films. The American director soon established a reputation as a filmmaker fascinated by trash and violence. In the 1960s, he projected his controversial films in parishes and sparked the curiosity of the American counter-culture movement. The more word of mouth spread, the more the newspapers of Baltimore railed against this new young genius of subversion. In 1972, he directed Pink Flamingos, which soon became a cult film: John Waters casually deals with the bad taste of certain families and does not hold back on having a dig at the traditional American family. In 1988, he directed Hairspray and then Cry-Baby, which showcases the talent of a very young Johnny Depp. This film gave him the chance to establish himself in the very serious American film industry. In fact, John Waters ultimately modified his mise en scène to make the film more accessible to the general public, but his films always retain a whiff of scandal and many dub him the "Pope of trash".

The director John Waters has been welcomed several times Out of Compétition at the Festival de Cannes, most notably in 1990 with Cry-Baby, in 1994 for Serial Mother and in 2000 for the film Cecile B. Demented. John Waters has used odorama technology twice: for the first time in 1981 with Polyester then for Female Trouble in 2006. John Waters was also a member of the Jury in 1995.

Hannah Benayoun

SCREENING

Wednesday 21st May / Macé Beach / 4.45 p.m.

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