Cover of Maria Mochnacz A Perfect Day Elise (PJ Harvey Music Videoclip)
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For fans of pj harvey,lovers of poetic and emotional music videos,followers of uk indie rock,viewers interested in music video direction,enthusiasts of visual storytelling
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LA RECENSIONE

Maria Mochnacz (UK): Videoclip for "A Perfect Day Elise", PJ Harvey (UK) from "Is This Desire?" (1998)

 

Everything seems to be seen through the keyhole... and the eyes... My eyes... those eyes.

It's a perfect day, this, for tragic twists, it's a perfect day to die: the last reflections remaining are the violent flashes that illuminate his eyes.

Rapid movements seem to lead to an inevitable conclusion: you, like a perfect sacrificial lamb, go towards your destiny without uttering a word. Around you, time sometimes crystallizes, sometimes runs so fast that it doesn't seem to have already passed. You are subjected to emotional brakes and accelerations. Even now that your essence has remained within these walls, to relive the moment of your death. Even now that the cold of this indeterminate season no longer penetrates your skin and your bones.

You remain a spectator admiring the moment: you, the images of those who were spectators, and those eyes.

It had to be a perfect day, it was, and it will remain so simultaneously, forever.

Maria Mochnacz has been collaborating with PJ Harvey for over 15 years (here a nice interview where she recounts many aspects of this collaboration) both as a photographer and videomaker: I don't know if this is the best result born from this (beautiful) friendship but it is certainly the one where images and words most harmoniously converge, and therefore it rightfully becomes my favorite (also for being taken from the album I love the most by the English artist). Just one question: how beautiful is Polly here?

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Summary by Bot

The review praises Maria Mochnacz’s videoclip for PJ Harvey’s 'A Perfect Day Elise,' highlighting its poetic and emotional imagery. It emphasizes the compelling fusion of visuals and lyrics, reflecting on themes of fate and mortality. The longstanding collaboration between Mochnacz and Harvey is noted as a key factor in its artistic success. The reviewer admires the haunting, intimate atmosphere and the beauty of Polly Harvey’s presence in the video.

Tracklist Lyrics

01   A Perfect Day Elise (03:08)

He got lucky, got lucky one time
Hitting with the girl in room five oh nine
She turned her back on him facing the frame
Said, "Listen Joe don't you come here again"

White sun scattered all over the sea
He could think of nothing but her name Elise
God is the sweat running down his back
The water soaked her blonde hair black

It's a perfect day
A perfect day, Elise

He got burned by the sun
(He's a lucky man)
His face so pale and his hands so worn
(And the sky)
Let himself in room five oh nine
(As she turned away)
Said a prayer, pulled the trigger and cried
(Tell me why)

It's a perfect day
A perfect day, Elise

Ah oh, It's a perfect day
A perfect day, Elise

02   The Northwood (01:53)

03   Sweeter Than Anything (03:11)

In photographs
I've seen him laugh
Hand overboard
Sun on his back

Summer was here
I remember it well
How he stood in the shade
How we both kissed and fail

How can this be
There's nothing left here
How can this be
There's nothing left here

So sad our, so sad our
So sad our, so sad our
So sad our, so sad our
Our memory, hey

Now he talks in his sleep
Says I've never known peace
And I don't know him now
He's a stranger to me

How can this be
There's nothing left here
How can this be
There's nothing left here

We were never more than a dream
Brief as summer or spring
Sweeter than anything

PJ Harvey

Polly Jean "PJ" Harvey (born 1969) is an English singer-songwriter and musician who emerged in the early 1990s. She is known for a wide-ranging body of work that spans raw guitar albums, piano-led records and politically engaged projects.
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