January 8, 2025
LXXIII — Jordan Le Galeze
Jordan is a French film director based in Brussels.

Below are Jordan’s SELECTS:

Film
Mirror by Andrei Tarkovsky
Soviet Union
1975

A bit like my bedside film, I feel like I discover something new every time I revisit it. It reflects my own childhood memories; I love how it allows the viewer to see their own life in it. It always remains a bit enigmatic to me. It influences the way I want to make films today.

Short Film
La Jetée by Chris Marker
France
1962

This short film was a must-see in school. It had the cliché of being “a film to watch,” yet it has always held an important place for me. I really like its beautiful way of addressing time through the memory of this love story that withstands the destruction of the world.

Art Film
Angel’s Egg by Mamoru Oshii
Japan
1985

Beauty and sadness. The idea of a glimmer in the dark: the world is dead, but this child seems like a little lantern that persists. You see ruins, the ghosts of a strange, bygone world. I adore the cold beauty that emanates from this animated film.

Film
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by Peter Jackson
New Zealand
2001

This is the trilogy that marked my childhood. The films continue to inspire and fascinate me today with their ability to juxtapose the intimate and the epic, carrying the grandeur of legendary tales. I also love the melancholy they convey, the sense of ruin, past glory, and a mythology that breathes within the story, generating an entire world of imagination.

Film
Paterson by Jim Jarmusch
United States
2016

Much more down-to-earth, I love this film; it feels comforting. It has something reassuring; you follow the routine and daily life of this unassuming couple. Golshifteh Farahani and Adam Driver are fantastic. I adore how it portrays characters who practice poetry and art secretly, for no other reason than for themselves and the joy of doing it.

 

Film
Mad Max: Fury Road by George Miller
Australia
2015

This film impresses me with its ability to captivate me. I only need to watch the intro to find myself unexpectedly watching it all the way through. There’s a purity in its storytelling that makes it invisible—the narrative unfolds through movement, with little to no dialogue. The film’s pace is relentless, yet the universe and characters fully develop and exist amid all the explosions and violence. It’s pure mise en scène brilliance.

Animated Film
The Red Turtle by Michaël Dudok de Wit
Japan
2016

Entirely silent, this animated film produced by Ghibli is wonderful. The story of this castaway living an entire life on a remote island is a beautiful meditation on humanity’s place amid nature and the elements.

Documentary
Knit’s Island by Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse, & Quentin L’helgoualc’h
France
2023

This is one of the most striking films I’ve seen recently. Following this group of reporters inside a video game was something I had never seen before. There’s a real beauty that emanates from the film and the interviews with this small group of players. There’s genuine poetry in celebrating social connections through the internet. It’s a film that deeply moved me.

Video Game
Inside by Playdead
Denmark
2016

For the last one, it’s not a film but a video game I’ve chosen. It’s an experience I love sharing with those around me—it’s a very accessible game. The atmosphere is magnificent and dark, a gem of implied storytelling. The dystopian universe remains very cryptic, but through the quest of the little boy you play, you grasp the horror of an adult world in decay from the background details. The game’s soundtrack is incredible.

PEOPLE IN THIS ARTICLE
Chris Marker
Featured
Mamoru Oshii
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Peter Jackson
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George Miller
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Michaël Dudok de Wit
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Ekiem Barbier
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Guilhem Causse
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Quentin L’helgoualc’h
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