Mountain View Café
In part one of the iconic Rambo film franchise, Alain Bublex identified two major elements in the mise en scène: the omnipresent hero in the foreground and natural and urban landscapes scrolling in the background, both symbols of America. Bearing this in mind, the visual artist decided to redraw all the scenes in the famous First Blood (1982) film, one by one. However, in order to accentuate the natural setting and the camera movements, he chose to omit the action scenes and characters from his drawings. This process provided the basic ingredients for a slow-motion animated film with aesthetics reminiscent of the history of American painting. With Lake Geneva as a backdrop, the Mountain View Café welcomes festivalgoers into a wood shack as if it were part of the scene. The immersive installation presents printed images from Bublex’ film and screens showing his version of First Blood blending together around an American-style bar, where the only action required is contemplation.
