The internet is full of buzz (see here, here and here) around this upcoming movie. The trailer looks promising. The music and colors are mindblowing. I’ve been looking for the children’s book on which it based but can’t seem to find any in Europe. Apparently it exist mainly of drawings and very little text. The music in the trailer is Arcade Fire (edit: and not Wolf Parade as suggested earlier – i always confuse these band names with each other).
I bought this single when I was about 17 and was astonished by the B-side ‘Let’s all make believe’ which I couldn’t believe didn’t appear on any of the A-side albums. It’s passion and despair go straight to the heart. And also, it’s still the best band name ever.
Fiep Westendorp is one of the Netherlands’ most famous illustrators who is mostly known for her coöperation with Annie M.G. Schmidt. Schmidt is amongst others the writer of the children’s books Jip en Janneke (pictured below) and Pluk van de Petteflet.
I was having a discussion a few years ago whether children would actually enjoy these kinds of illustrations which are very appreciated by illustrators but represent a rather abstracted vision of reality. I remember as a kid I only realized both Jip en Janneke were actually black when I was about 12 years old. This somehow never registered and was not mentioned in the stories either. Makes you wonder if Schmidt and Westendorp used it as a graphic technique or if they chose black kids on purpose.
Blog Archive
