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JAMESON DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2014FRIDAY 14TH FEBRUARYMODE IN FRANCEMR FREEDOMTues 18 Feb / Light House 2 / 6pm / 84 minutesDirector: William Klein 1984 USKlein returns to the fashion world after an extended hiatus withthis free-form documentary. In twelve distinct tableaux, intendedto showcase the work of the emerging couturiers of the 80s(including Jean-Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld and Agnès B), Kleinalternates between comedy, ballet, dramatisation, and pseudodocumentary.Anticipating the advent of Fashion TV, Klein juxtaposes segmentsand styles, beginning with an abbreviated history of women’sfashion, then cutting to footage of French pre-schoolers playingdress-up, Grace Jones performing a play in a g-string, and peepshow booths doubling as confessionals for runway models.A humorous and analytical view of the French fashion scene,Mode in France is essential viewing for those interested infashion and cinematic form.MUHAMMAD ALI, THE GREATESTTues 18 Feb / Light House 2 / 4pm / 97 minutesWriter-director: William Klein 1969 USCast: John Abbey, Delphine Seyrig, Donald PleasanceAlthough he says that he has turned his back on America, Kleinhas continued to mine the American cultural cache. Mr Freedomwas made in France during the heightened anti-Americanismof the 1960s. Banned by the French government and criticallydismissed upon release, the film stands as a visionary popculturepolemic attacking the US foreign policy of the time whiledeconstructing American ideology.Once again, Klein anticipates the rise of the superhero genrein film, subverting it with a pastiche of puppets, outrageouscostumes, over-the-top theatrical sets, buffoonery and largerthan-lifecomic book representations and conventions. Excessive,kitschy and lots of fun.WHO ARE YOU, POLLY MAGGOO?Wed 19 Feb / Light House 2 / 4pm / 110 minutesDirector: William Klein 1974 USKlein’s masterwork evolved from his 1964-5 documentaryFloat Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee; a portrait of the youngboxer Cassius Clay during his two fights with Sonny Liston.Ten years later and shot in colour, Muhammad Ali, the Greatestconcludes with the legendary ‘Rumble in the Jungle’. Kleinguides the camera lens through cultural and political momentsthat comment not only on the iconic personality of Ali, but onwhat that personality meant as a symbol of African Americanresistance in White America. The anarchic and inflammatorypersona of the champ is manifested in a drama class in Harlemwhere the students are producing improvisations about Ali (thenCassius Clay) and in an interview with his mentor Malcolm X,filmed shortly before his assassination. The film is not merelya representation of one of the most important sports figuresof the 20th century, but an entire sociopolitical landscapereflected by and mediated through the film’s auteur.Thurs 20 Feb / IFI 1 / 6pm / 97 minutesWriter-director: William Klein 1966 USCast: Dorothy McGowan, Jean Rochefort, Sami FreyWilliam Klein worked for Vogue for over a decade. The fashionindustry is a central motif in many of his films, although he claimsto despise it. In this, his first feature film, he creates an art houseparody positioned somewhere between the mockumentaryand the moralistic fairytale. Vogue cover girl Dorothy McGowanstars as the Brooklyn-born supermodel Polly Maggoo. Thequintessential ‘It-girl’, she is being followed by a French televisioncrew and has become the objet du désir for reporter Gregoire(Jean Rochefort). Shot in high-contrast black-and-whitecinematography and edited in a frenetic style, the film holdsa mirror to celebrity and fashion. A cornucopia of technical stylesand hyperactive art direction, Polly Maggoo remains one ofWilliam Klein’s best-known films.James ArmstrongBOOK ONLINE AT JDIFF.COM 19