La Ville - Oui Oui

What this video is

Released in 1992 as part of Oui Oui's second album 'Formidable' (FNAC Music), 'La Ville' arrives at the band's dissolution point — the group disbanded the same year. The video exists at a pivotal cultural juncture: it is one of the last artifacts of Gondry's pre-international career, made within a French indie pop scene that self-consciously rejected the cold wave and politicized rock of the era. Its handmade…

Why it matters

A foundational document of pre-breakthrough Michel Gondry, 'La Ville' demonstrates the animator-director's earliest application of tactile, handcrafted visual language to the pop music video format. Its fast-cut animated style, warm color saturation, and surrealist city imagery directly anticipate…

The director

Michel Gondry (born Versailles, France) is a French film, music video, and commercial director. He served as drummer for Oui Oui while simultaneously directing all of the band's music videos — work that launched his career. His Oui Oui videos attracted…