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blue, darkness, Das weiße Band, deep see, emotion, falling, floating, Iron, Lana Del Ray, landscape, loneliness, lost, love, Run Boy Run, sorrow, The Golden Age, tragedy, where are you, Woodkid, Yoann Lemoine
This brand new music video for “I Love You” by Yoann Lemoine aka Woodkid is my latest find. Lemoine has been around for a while, but recently arouse attention with his extraordinary musicvideo for “Iron”. Go check it out, if you don’t know it. “Run Boy Run” is another great video and song. The boy in the very beginning of “I Love You” is the protagonist in “Run Boy Run”, which implies a greater concept. All three songs are released on the upcoming EP “The Golden Age”, expected March 2013.
The film is brilliant, working with powerful and beautiful, emotional black and white images in inimitable style. Woodkid uses landscapes to emphasize the songs heartstrings, especially the water makes me unable to move in amazement and sorrow.
The cast being as great aswell. The szenes in the church remind me of the german film “Das weiße Band”.
I must say, I am VERY excited about the album aswell and the continuance of the story.
I Love You – Woodkid
The interpretation seems simple for me, a man singing about his Gefühlswelt. Love, lonelyness, grief, sorrow.
But questions remain. Why the black and white? I understand it being a stylistic device, but I feel that the deep blue of the underwater world would describe such emotions even more precise.
Also the man. In a church, wearing black, being formidable, the people stand up when he enters, he speaks to them (in russian) and plays the organ. But he is no pastor, since he is wearing a hat inside the church and he washes hands and face in the babtistery. And I am uncertain how the priest – love thing works.
What are the wales representing?
The meaning of the keys?
Also the end. His hands turn into earth/ stone. Emphazising his inner world/ emotions being real and taking effect on him?
In the beginning he walks along the dry bed of a river, is he searching for the sea? Or is he looking for the spring and found the sea?
Hey Till, wow – what a powerful video and song. I love the black and white, it always seems to make things more abstract, more symbolic – as it is visually removed from reality. I agree the beginning reminds be of “The White Ribbon” too – not only the look, but the opression of a conservative society, and the insidious crimes that go on below the surface of it.
The landscapes also reminded me of the work of Ansel Adams – check out some of his photopgraphy. I think you will be moved by it.
The video lost me a little with the CGI whales. I as loving it up to that point. It reminded me of those scenes in “The life of Pi” – but CGI seldom moves me emotionally.
The message I got was that the young church organist (and religious fanatic) had just murdered a young boy. Unable to live between appearances and the truth he drowns himself – but only in his dreams. Then the reality of his act catches up with him, and he crumbles. One cannot live a lie.
Ian, very interesting interpretation there, and quite different to mine. For example, the most intense moment for me when watching for the first time was the massive whales appearing from below…
Oh, and I was reminded of “The Tree of Life” by Malick (we watched it together), where imagery of natur and cosmos is used to emphazise inner disputes.
Concerning the message: It definately has to do with the boy from “Run Boy Run”, and appearing in the first few seconds of “I Love You”. Here he sings “As we are floating in the blue, I am softly watching you, Oh boy your eyes betray what burns inside you”. And: “In the waves I’ve lost every trace of you, Oh where are you?” Therefore I admit, something has definately happened to the boy. Whether or not the protagonist is responsible, I can not yet determine.
Here are the complete lyrics:
Where the light shivers offshore
Through the tides of oceans
We are shining in the rising sun
As we are floating in the blue
I am softly watching you
Oh boy your eyes betray what burns inside you
Whatever I feel for you
You only seem to care about you
Is there any chance you could see me too?
‘Cos I love you
Is there anything I could do
Just to get some attention from you?
In the waves I’ve lost every trace of you
Oh where are you?
After all i drifted ashore
Through the streams of oceans
Whispers wasted in the sand
As we were dancing in the blue
I was synchronized with you
But now the sound of love is out of tune
Whatever I feel for you
You only seem to care about you
Is there any chance you could see me too?
‘Cos I love you
Is there anything I could do
Just to get some attention from you
In the waves I’ve lost every trace of you
Oh where are you?
Any ideas about the other means used, e.g. priest, sea, whales, keys, hands…?
The main question for me is the end of the video:
because for me it kinda feels that he is finally finding peace, deep down in the ocean, sorrounded by bluewhales getting swollowed by the earth. But no, in the video he breaks??Why??
The keys are just referring to his other videos i think not to much to interpretate here.
Really questionable for me is the church/priest situation:
because he obviously is not a priest, wearing a hat, washing his hands in the “taufbecken” and getting so much into love for 1 person (I referr to the songtitle here)….
So this whole church-situation must be a symbol for something:
For example believing in something like people in church do, believing so much in something that u would even kill a boy for that, in the name of some god or some fanatic idea.
Personally I think the video would be even more impressive if one part were coulered. For example the dreampart. Something like a blue ocean….
Nice to mention Ansel Adams here, its defnitly worth it to take a look at his work ….
Sorry for bad english
Paul
I`ve got another idea, maybe he killed his own son?!!!
“maybe he killed his own son?!!!” Reason?
Maybe he killed himself…?
The few words the protagonist says before the music starts are russian and mean “I will tell the story of a man who lost his love, drowned in the ocean, died twice”.
Highest mountain – deepest sea.
Yoan Lemoine aka Woodkid about his creations on his website (yoannlemoine.com/about/).
“I could say my creations are related to subjects such as childhood, absence, nostalgia, sexuality, fashion, symbolism, and of course that patchwork, that collision between different worlds and techniques, which is what I’m made from, I guess.”
After more research I realised another helpful information: The order. The imagery of the three until now released musicvideos still indicates the videos are parts in a greater concept. Until now I assumed the order of the videos in the story was the release-order, but from the album teaser I understood this not being the case at all, e.g. “Iron” is the second-last track on the album…