LE SABOTIER DU VAL DE LOIRE

This short documentary follows the typical week in the life of an old clog maker in the Loire Valley, describing his craftsmanship as it was still carried out in 1956 in detail. A voice-over tells us of his thoughts on old age, his wife, and the recent death of his friend.

Centering the day-to-day of a clog maker, Demy not only elevates the specificity of a dying trade but also ponders on the changing tides of modernity and the inevitability of death. Shot in black and white, the Loire Valley landscape is stark yet evocative, haunted by the lingering specter of WWII.