Around 140 thousand spectators were registered by the French box office in the first two weeks of exhibition of “Calamity, Une Enfance by Martha Jane Cannary” in the exhibition halls of Paris, Nice, Marseille and surroundings, guaranteeing this animation with a feminist tone a popular start even at a time when cinemas in its country of origin were facing the second wave of covid-19, on the eve of a second confinement .
Even so, moviegoers in France have not lost interest in this animated western, which is part of Monstra’s programming in Lisbon. Western that messes with a real historical figure, portrayed in the erstwhile hit “Jane’s Mischief” (1953). Ahead of him, Doris Day (1922-2019) crushed many hearts, filled cinemas and fought against a thousand sexist practices by embodying the cowgirl Calamity Jane, who is now reborn in the colorful film by animator Rémi Chayé.
Last year, the filmmaker was presented with the Cristal trophy for best film at the Annecy Festival, the Cannes of cartoons, stop motionrotoscoping and other techniques for unraveling narratives live action🇧🇷
Among nearly 90 titles selected by Unifrance (the French government’s film promotion body), for a marathon of interviews and screenings, organized online, via zoom, “Calamity, Une Enfance by Martha Jane Cannary” was one of the most visible attractions, mainly due to the seal of Annecy.
In Brazil, where the animation remains unpublished, the figure of Calamity is associated with the expression “Hot Like Pepper”, which was the title used for “Jane’s Mischief”, a western crowned with the Oscar for best song for music “secret love🇧🇷
In the 1960s, it was the turn of the world comic industry to fall in love with Martha Jane Canary-Burke (1852-1903), a unique horsewoman, whose skills with the loop and the trigger were incomparable. In 1967, René Goscinny (1926-1977) and Morris (1923-2001) took her to the BD universe of sheriff Lucky Luke, in an album of huge sales success, where she drew attention for her spitting, in a deconstruction of a western male archetype.
In the 1990s, Calamity gained new prominence when played by Ellen Barkin in “Wild Bill, A Legend In The West” (1995), by Walter Hill, alongside Jeff Bridges. And now this stagecoach legend is revived in national cinemas, via Monstra, in Rémi’s strokes.
🇧🇷We really like westerns here. I grew up going to a public library where I would read comics and discovered the West through ‘Lieutenant Blueberry’, by Moebius, and the work of Hermann. France has always invested heavily in cowboy comics. In fact, all of Europe was a fan of the genre, with German western series and the spaghetti western. But when I decided to create a story of formation in Calamity’s childhood, I preferred to give up what the western is most sexist about: the recurring idea of revenge.”, said Chaye. 🇧🇷Even the film with Doris Day was not a reference, despite its queer style being interesting as a transgression, for the 1950s standard. Pollack, and the perception that there are westerns that are feminist and that follow a more psychological line. My action is in the West, but my thinking is not. He’s on a girl’s journey🇧🇷
In France, Rémi’s film won over young audiences. 🇧🇷We made the film with children in mind, betting on fiction to explore an unknown period in Calamity’s history: his childhood and adolescence.”, said the director.
In the film, he shows the little Calamity, then called Martha, as someone brave who learns to tame the machismo of her contemporaries by excelling in tasks previously forbidden to women. The soundtrack by Florencia Di Concilio is a find. 🇧🇷We’re talking about a girl against the world. Our story is that of a poor, lonely girl who resists the adversities of a sexist world (…)🇧🇷
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