Pierrick et Jean-Loup is a series of four self-films commissioned by the French television programme "Rapptout". Each of these burlesque shorts adopts a form which conforms to the same structure: Pierrick, his face filmed in close-up and colour, starts to recount the story of a day spent at home with his brother Jean-Loup. Then, in sepia and with a rhythm reminiscent of the silent films of Méliès or Buster Keaton, the film shows scenes from the day. Pierrick's voice off, hesitant and in not very good French, provides the commentary. Three of these short stories finish in front of the television, which is showing the programme that commissioned the films. The last film finishes in burst of violence and, we are led to believe, the final separation of the brothers, who are both played by Pierrick Sorin. The sound track, beneath the voice over, varies from a slight exacerbation of real noises (in the manner of Jacques Tati) to electronic sound effects (Pierrick et Jean-Loup font de la musique).

Using different codes, this structure creates successive distancing factors: Colour and the close-up of Pierrick's face as he presents his film belong to the language of television, its immediacy and the direct view the spectator has of the narrator. The sepia, the characters in action and the voice off belong to the language of film, to the time of the story (which gives a certain perspective) and to the narrator's view of himself. A final distancing factor is inside the films, within the story: Pierrick and Jean-Loup are able to watch themselves on television.

Being enclosed in this formal circle gives these small, intimate, burlesque scenes a melancholy and derisory quality that is almost tragic. They show the narrator's narcissistic and voyeuristic deadlock, he can't get away from the need to watch and watch himself watching. The irony of these pieces also comes from the fact that they were made to be shown in a "cultural" programme, which is itself shown in the films. They were pitched at an audience who could be expected to appreciate this proffered mirror and this derision of cultural productions.

Jean-Loup et les jeux vidéo: The two brothers are bored and decide it would be fun to play a video game. Since they don't have one, they decide to make one by filming themselves in the garden: each of them mimes ducking, as if avoiding imaginary projectiles. The game consists of watching the videotape and throwing eggs at the image of the other, as it appears on the television screen. Then Pierrick stops playing to go and prepare eggs for dinner, while Jean-Loup keeps on throwing at people in a television programme. "Jean-Loup is good at video games."

Kamel Bourchren