1974’s Les Valseuses was a nice kick in the teeth of the bourgeoisie, a movie like they don’t make ’em anymore starring the young Gérard Depardieu, lovely Miou-Miou and of course the immortal Patrick Dewaere. The main theme of the beautiful soundtrack, written and performed by jazz violin legend Stéphane Grappelli, now comes to life again on Maria Markesini’s cinephile sound journey Cinema Passionata, also featuring a piece from Jacques Demy’s Demoiselles de Rochefort, and lots of other stuff from The Big Lebowsky to Amistad. Markesini, born on the Greek Island of Kefalonia and living in the Netherlands, is a chanteuse to watch. Her approach, oscillating between grand pop aria and Bobby McFerrin on crystal meth, doubtless has class, but also gets a bit tiring in the long run.
Maria Markesini – Rolls (Theme from Les Valseuses)