January has just begun with its share of cultural discoveries. We have therefore chosen to share with you some of our literary, cinematic and musical favorites.
Literature: The Odyssey of Hakim by Fabien Toulmé
Hakim's Odyssey is a documentary comic book series written, drawn and colored by Fabien Toulmé . It tells the (true) story of Hakim, a young Syrian man forced to flee the war in his country and leave everything : family, friends, work in order to obtain refugee status .
Winner of the Franceinfo Prize for Current Affairs and Reporting Comics , Fabien Toulmé 's work draws our attention to the harsh reality of these men and women confronted with the violence of war and then the hostility of the asylum countries. A poignant and real story mixing hope, courage and animosity.
Critically acclaimed , Volume 3 of the comic was released in June 2020 and an exhibition was dedicated to it last autumn in Millau as part of the Exile, Struggles and Migrations season.
Cinema: Don't Look Up by Adam McKay
Created and directed by Adam McKay (director of The Big Short: The Heist of the Century which earned him an Oscar) for Netflix , the film was a great success on the platform. Inspired by a very current theme: the climate crisis ; the film mocks the reactions, sometimes more than unreal, of some of our contemporaries in the face of climate change and its threat to our planet and our lives.
At the heart of the film, the threat of the fall of a comet that will completely ravage the Earth and decimate all its inhabitants. Threat discovered by scientists who will strive to warn the world despite the denial, inaction and sarcasm of politicians in the face of this discovery and the emergence of fake news and disinformation .
The casting is also choice , we find Leonardo DiCaprio and his former acting partners: Jonah Hill and Cate Blanchett . But also Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Perlman, Mark Rylance and Rob Morgan . Without forgetting Timothée Chalamet , already on the bill for Dune and The French Dispatch (and soon Wonka ), and also Tomer Sisley , for another little French touch.
Series: Euphoria by Sam Levinson
After two special episodes released during the last lockdown, Euphoria is finally back with a brand new season after its success 2 and a half years ago. Broadcast since Monday, January 10 on OCS City , the series resumes where it left off.
We therefore find the character of Rue , played by Zendaya ( which earned her an Emmy Award and the additional position of executive producer of the series ), still narrator of the events taking place throughout the episode and caught up by her old ghosts .
Sam Levinson thus offers a new season, a little more trashy than the previous one, but still dotted with shots, each more beautiful than the last , with colors very specific to the aesthetics of the series, all peppered with a choice soundtrack on which we can find, of course, the artist Labrinth , but also songs with more eighties tones .
We will also be able to find Sam Levinson very soon on his new series " The Idol " in collaboration with The Weeknd with, in the cast, Lily-Rose Depp , Troye Sivan and even The Weeknd himself.
Music: Dawn FM by The Weeknd
Speaking of The Weeknd , the artist released his fifth album a few days ago: Dawn FM . Conceived as a real experience , the Canadian singer takes us back to the great hours of radio with the sounds of synthetic melodies reminiscent of new wave, synthpop or even funk .
A dive into the singer's purgatory , narrated by Jim Carrey who promises a "painless" transition, the album's sounds and Abel Tesfaye's voice are reminiscent of Michael Jackson , and we also find one of the former producers of the king of pop: Quincy Jones . This is followed by featurings with other names in American rap such as Lil Wayne and Tyler The Creator .
For his freshly released clips , the artist has once again drawn inspiration from many of his favorite directors like David Lynch . With an aesthetic that is once again beautifully crafted, we enter a new era of The Weeknd which turns out to be a new trilogy .