ginabeauty Reviews

Mylène Farmer: Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy (2006 Video)

Wonderfully kooky as always

[8/10 · 30 August 2014]

From the very peculiar outset, you feel that's you're in for an unusual night with a Mylene show.

As always, l'Ange Rouge sings beautifully, perfectly, wonderfully well. Some of the lesser-known Avant Que L'Ombre songs get an airing in this show. Perfectly pleasant though they are, I did slightly prefer those from the Innamoramento album during the Mylenium show. The Spanish dancers also irritated me slightly, twice. I'd much rather have an Yvan Cassan piano interlude, but maybe that's just me.

I think my favourite part was when the young girl was invited up to share the stage with her idol. It's such a lovely moment. I can hardly imagine how it must feel for her.

This was the 5th of Mylene's shows that I've seen, and although I prefer various aspects some of the others, they're all perfectly enjoyable and pretty wonderful.

Mylène Farmer: Mylenium Tour (2000 Video)

Stylish and adorably kooky as ever

[8/10 · 23 August 2014]

I totally enjoyed this show. Mylene performs as well as always - towards the end, you can see she has really given everything. I particularly liked the opening and the amusing "Allô, oui, c'est moi. Tu n'es pas là?" trick.

That said, I wish I had seen this in 2000 because I've rather spoiled the experience for myself by seeing the technically marvellous Timeless and Stade de France 2009 first, which were so wonderful, anything would be an anti-climax by comparison. Some of the lesser-known Innamoramento songs get an airing in this show which made for a pleasant change.

I found the extras a little underwhelming, although they were quite an insight into the backstage nerves before a show. The NY & Moscow parts were the most interesting to me.

As with all Mylene's shows, Mylenium is well worth seeing.

Mylène Farmer: The Farmer Project (2009 Music Video)

The 2nd half is so moving...

[8/10 · 20 August 2014]

Somehow knowledge of the existence of this short film has eluded me for 5yrs, but what a little gem it is! For those that don't know, The Farmer Project is essentially two music videos joined together with a Russian- language intro, all of which is beautifully shot.

After the intro, the first music video is for Degeneration which is a little strange, French and slightly kinky as one might expect from the 'Ange Rouge'.

The second music video is for Si J'avais Au Moins which I thought was quite fantastic. With Mylene's haunting voice and music, the theme combined with wonderful cinema craft, any viewer with a heart watches this with tears in their eyes.

Even if you've never heard of Mylene, this is well worth seeing. If you know her, you won't be disappointed.

Mylène Farmer: En concert (1990 Video)

Enjoyable, but would vastly benefit from digital remastering!

[8/10 · 9 August 2014]

This is the 3rd of Mylene's shows that I've watched recently, in reverse chronological order. "En Concert" is from 1989 and unfortunately, the VHS version I saw showed its age, with Mylene appearing extremely bright white against a hazy background for the most part. Quaint 1980s lighting styles and some over-exuberant camera-work at times added little to the enjoyment either. I hope a celluloid version of this show exists somewhere as it would be a crying shame to lose it.

That said, I enjoyed pretty much the whole 80 mins runtime. I've never been a big fan of Maman a Tort, which for me was the low point of the show. Everything else was fine, with Tristana and Libertine towards the end, being especially great. Mylene's theatricals certainly enhance the show, which was rather more Gothic, rocky and guitar-based than I expected and she sang well throughout, especially considering how energetically she ran around at times. She clearly worked very hard during this performance.

If I had attended this show in 1989, I may have just about become an MF fan, even before Anamorphosée, which was when I really noticed her. An interesting, historical document which strongly hints at the wonderful songs and shows yet to come.

Mylène Farmer: Stade de France (2009 Video)

Mylene at her wonderfully kooky best

[9/10 · 7 August 2014]

I saw this show a few weeks after having watched Timeless: Le Film. As usual, Mylene sings and performs wonderfully well, and with this show being filmed on her birthday, it contains some especially touching moments.

All of Mylene's biggest hits are included, as of 2009. The show itself, the intro, the lighting, costumes (apart from that backwards-looking suit outfit. What was JPG thinking?), stage, direction, camera-work, song order, are all perfectly spectacular. On Blu-Ray, it is absolutely stunning. This is rather a long video, but the time just flies by. The extras with Si J'avais Au Moins and Je Te Rends Ton Amour are well worth seeking out.

I have seen about a dozen concerts and this is definitely the best. If you only ever watch one Mylene show, this should be the one.

Mylene Farmer: Timeless 2013 - Le Film (2014 Video)

A pure delight

[9/10 · 16 July 2014]

As one of Mylene's casual fans from the other side of La Manche, tracking down Timeless: Le Film on double Blu-Ray was not easy, but I'm so glad I did. I've not seen many such shows, nor even many Blu-Rays, so I'm basing my review here purely on this show.

From the very outset, the picture quality is quite superb. The opening 'Genesis' scene is incredible and must've appeared absolutely eye- popping from the front of the audience.

As any of her fans will know already, Mylene sings live very well indeed. This show is long, but the 2hrs flies by. I particularly liked the parts with Gary Jules and Moby on the screen behind the stage.

My only minor qualm is that C'est Dans L'air was omitted from the set and that some of the 'intermissions' while Mylene goes off and gets changed last necessarily a little longer than is perhaps ideal for the viewer.

The 2nd disc is also wonderfully put together, interesting and comprehensive. As my French is some way short of brilliant, I found the more casual 'In Time' chapter the most charming.