This week's main highlight features a rock band from London playing a gig on a not-quite-stable iceberg in sub zero conditions just off the coast of Greenland.
Content Highlights of the Week
It seems wonderfully appropriate for the brand behind it all, as it's the sort of enterprise you can imagine would be suggested after a round of Jagermeisters. We imagine the consumption of the product was very much involved in the band's decision to participate. As well as linking nicely to Jagermeister's support in general for live rock music of the more robust variety, it's nicely put together. Stunning scenery, beautifully captured, with some insightful and character revealing interviews and a decent soundtrack too. Our only criticism is that the narrative jeopardy (icebergs are a bit wobbly, heart attacks caused by freezing water, etc) could have been dialled up a little higher from the start, as it turns out passing time on moving icebergs isn't as simple as polar bears make it look. But, who am I to quibble, I watched it all the way through even when I had plenty of other things to watch this week…
…including this charming little film from KLM, which certainly won over hearts with its undoubted 'Aaahhhhh, so cute' factor. It's a short and sweet little explanation of how they retrieve lost luggage with the help of a certain specialist.
NOT Content Highlight of the Week
Now, let's get this straight right from the start. I'm a massive fan of Baz Luhrmann and his films. I LOVE Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet. I have no time for people that missed the point of Australia, and the sneery critical nitpicking of his superb version of Gatsby was totally unwarranted. So the last thing I want to do is give Baz's new Chanel film a kicking. But, alas, duty bounds.
It should be good. Ace director? Yep. Sexy locations. Uh-huh. Dialogue-free for easy global syndication? Oh yeah, smart. De rigeur slow acoustic re-record of a classic pop song? Natch. Dramatic conflict? Hmm, suppose so. Love and romance? It's in there. Happy feelgood ending? Mange tout, Rodney, mange tout.
So why does it all end up looking and feeling like just another boring perfume ad? It's because it doesn't even hint at an attempt at a mere thought of trying something different.
The longer film format used here could have been used to spin a more delicate plot, or develop more rounded characters than those we usually we find in the standard 60 seconds of nonsense that's hurled at us in ad breaks every November. But this film makes not even a cursory effort to break out of the perfume category's tired advertising conventions.
Unlike some now more enlightened fashion brands (Cos, Mui Mui and Agent Provocateur, for example) Chanel are still rehashing the same old overly-fragrant clichés of beaches, wet hair, surfing, designer homes and nights in and around opulent opera houses. Now if Baz is actually trying to tick these boxes as some sort of ironic pastiche, then fine, but a little humour wouldn't then go amiss would it? Instead it's pretence piled upon ostentation, with a pinch of supermodel angst sprinkled on top. Spare me, please.
I can't help feeling that Baz was just thinking of the cash when he knocked this out. Let's hope he puts it to good use on his next proper feature.