Drawing influence from the hey-day of French New Wave cinema, folk-rock crooner Kabaal Klankbaan just gave his latest single “Not Tonight, Josephine” a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek video.
The song is a wonderful example of a happy-go-lucky composition belying a serious, earnest message. With an almost obnoxiously upbeat tempo supporting him, vocalist Floris Groenewald asks for a bit of space from the love of his life, his voice heavy with the struggle of setting boundaries without breaking a heart.
A mini re-make of legendary French New Wave director Jean-luc Godard’s legendary film “A Bout de Souffle” – aka “Breathless” – the video draws inspiration from the movie’s plot to tie into the song’s lyrical content.
With a typically New Wave shooting style and hammed-up performances it tells the tale of a spontaneous relationship between a man on the run and a kind, caring woman – the uncertainty of their dynamic mirroring the emotional uncertainty in Groenewald’s words.
It’s a serious song masked by a tongue-in-cheek energy and the video is no different, it’s almost comical cinematography and performances acting as a Trojan Horse for its deeper emotions.
