Post by Roquefort Raider on Nov 14, 2014 9:01:30 GMT -5
There is an brilliant series of short videos titled "Les documents interdits" (the forbidden documents) that was produced in the 80s. They're all about very convincing-sounding conspiracy/unexplained things, and are presented as if they were genuine documentaries. All of them are in some foreign language and subtitled, narrated by an even-voiced fellow who sounds damn serious; most of them are in black and white. The whole thing is very entertaining, especially since no explanation is ever given for most of the phenomena covered. I loved it!
I tried to find an English version but unfortunately failed to do so. But jut to give you an idea of what the clips are about:
In one, we are told about an American middle-aged man who, for the past decades, has been showing a slide show every week. He's well-liked locally, and his show attracts a handful of tourists each week, but many think he must be a little loony. This man claims to have been abducted by a flying saucer in the 50s and taken around the moon, only to waken the next day in his car, on the side of the road. A simple dream, perhaps induced by alcohol? That's what the authorities claim, even if they tried to silence his testimony back in the day... and the man does have slides of the far side of the moon, allegedly taken in the 50s!
In another, a Spanish-speaking man tells of his journey with his friend Miguel to an isolated piece of land where live "those who are not named". Miguel's father, an old and leathery hermit living in a small cabin in a rocky desert, tells them how to get there: you have to walk in a certain direction for a day, and then wait for a lizard to cross your road. Then you must follow the direction taken by the animal. If a bird circles overhead, sit on the ground for three hours, not looking up. If you suddenly feel a cold wind during the night, do not react: it is death who is testing you by waving its cloak, and so on. Miguel and the narrator (who holds the camera) travel as directed, and a week later we have the first glimpse of those who are not named: far away across a canyon, a cloaked form can be seen. It seems to vanish and reappear kilometers away on a rocky ledge. The narrator turns to talk to Miguel, only to find him gone! Looking back, he sees that Miguel is now on the faraway ledge, with the cloaked figure. Then both vanish, to reappear even further away. The narrator says he never saw Miguel again. Going back to the father's cabin, he finds it totally deserted and eaten away as if by years of exposure. Not understanding, he reflects that time seems to work in unexplainable ways in some places.
In yet a third, a TV producer tells of the disappearance of one of his news crews. The show they were working on was a precursor of reality TV: viewers would call the station and tell of a problem they had, and the TV crew would go and visit them to learn more about it. One night, a few years ago, an elderly lady called to complain about noises in the walls. The TV crew reaches her house at night, finding the door open. After calling out and getting no response, they let themselves in and find a series of unlit rooms that get increasingly creepier. The camera seems to have troubles transmitting and images get increasingly grainier, but we understand that the TV crew has entered a corridor that is very cold, and that stretches for longer than the house is supposed to be. Eventually the signal is lost. They have never been seen again. The TV producer relating the story says that the identity of the caller had been checked. There is no one by that name living in that house, which has been unoccupied for decades... but a lady with the same name lived there in the 1930s, and it is known that at the time, major work on city sewers caused rats to crawl into the walls of several houses of the neighbourhood, forcing many houses to be abandoned.
As you see, it's very subdued tension; but the verisimilitude of the fake documentary format gives the whole package all the flavour of those delicious conspiracy theories we enjoy.
I tried to find an English version but unfortunately failed to do so. But jut to give you an idea of what the clips are about:
In one, we are told about an American middle-aged man who, for the past decades, has been showing a slide show every week. He's well-liked locally, and his show attracts a handful of tourists each week, but many think he must be a little loony. This man claims to have been abducted by a flying saucer in the 50s and taken around the moon, only to waken the next day in his car, on the side of the road. A simple dream, perhaps induced by alcohol? That's what the authorities claim, even if they tried to silence his testimony back in the day... and the man does have slides of the far side of the moon, allegedly taken in the 50s!
In another, a Spanish-speaking man tells of his journey with his friend Miguel to an isolated piece of land where live "those who are not named". Miguel's father, an old and leathery hermit living in a small cabin in a rocky desert, tells them how to get there: you have to walk in a certain direction for a day, and then wait for a lizard to cross your road. Then you must follow the direction taken by the animal. If a bird circles overhead, sit on the ground for three hours, not looking up. If you suddenly feel a cold wind during the night, do not react: it is death who is testing you by waving its cloak, and so on. Miguel and the narrator (who holds the camera) travel as directed, and a week later we have the first glimpse of those who are not named: far away across a canyon, a cloaked form can be seen. It seems to vanish and reappear kilometers away on a rocky ledge. The narrator turns to talk to Miguel, only to find him gone! Looking back, he sees that Miguel is now on the faraway ledge, with the cloaked figure. Then both vanish, to reappear even further away. The narrator says he never saw Miguel again. Going back to the father's cabin, he finds it totally deserted and eaten away as if by years of exposure. Not understanding, he reflects that time seems to work in unexplainable ways in some places.
In yet a third, a TV producer tells of the disappearance of one of his news crews. The show they were working on was a precursor of reality TV: viewers would call the station and tell of a problem they had, and the TV crew would go and visit them to learn more about it. One night, a few years ago, an elderly lady called to complain about noises in the walls. The TV crew reaches her house at night, finding the door open. After calling out and getting no response, they let themselves in and find a series of unlit rooms that get increasingly creepier. The camera seems to have troubles transmitting and images get increasingly grainier, but we understand that the TV crew has entered a corridor that is very cold, and that stretches for longer than the house is supposed to be. Eventually the signal is lost. They have never been seen again. The TV producer relating the story says that the identity of the caller had been checked. There is no one by that name living in that house, which has been unoccupied for decades... but a lady with the same name lived there in the 1930s, and it is known that at the time, major work on city sewers caused rats to crawl into the walls of several houses of the neighbourhood, forcing many houses to be abandoned.
As you see, it's very subdued tension; but the verisimilitude of the fake documentary format gives the whole package all the flavour of those delicious conspiracy theories we enjoy.
