The Life Before Us

a French novel by Romain Gary

: Studio Workshop on Space Analysis, Hongik University (2021)

Time : 1970s

Place : Belleville(Paris), France

Genre : Drama, Human

Synopsis

Momo, a Muslim orphan boy, lives under the care of an old Jewish woman named Madame Rosa,

who was a prisoner at Auschwitz and later became a prostitute in Paris.

Momo's mother abandoned him with Madame Rosa, who is essentially a babysitter for the children of prostitutes. They live on the seventh floor of an apartment building in Belleville, an old district of Paris.

In their apartment building, Madame Rosa made a small hideout in a cellar,

where she keeps artifacts of her Jewish heritage.

The young boy tells the story of his life in the orphanage and of his relationship with Madame Rosa as she becomes increasingly sick, culminating with her death after she had expressed her desire to not die in the hospital

on life support, saying that she does not want to be a vegetable being forced to live.

Moodboard

Alienation / Poverty / Contrast / Solidarity / Death

If I were to make a film version of an original novel, I would show the social reality as it is without evident direction.

It will also often be shown through the point of view of a pure child, like a documentary.

It will also clearly show contrast as both bright and dark spaces appear in the film.

Characters

Momo (10)

An immigrant Muslim boy who lives in orphanage run by Madame Rosa.

Madame Rosa (55)

A Jewish Holocaust survivor, who is now a babysitter for the children of prostitutes.

She was a prisoner at Auschwitz and later became a prostitute in Paris.

She becomes sick and loses her mind slowly.

1970s Belleville, an old district of Paris

Historically, Belleville was a working-class neighborhood.

During the first half of the 20th century, many immigrants settled there: German Jews in 1933.

Many Algerians and Tunisian Jews arrived in the early 1960s.

In the 1970s, it was an underdeveloped area. The buildings on the street had peeling paint or falling concrete.

Street vendors and bicycles can be commonly seen on the street.

3D work

Used Program : Sketchup & V-ray

Idea sketch of nearby district

Momo's apartment building (exterior)

It is an ivory-colored building with seven floors in total.
Momo's house is located at the top and has a small balcony through the children's room.
Momo and the kids can look down on Belleville Street from the balcony.
Potted plants are placed on the window frames on each floor.

Nearby Destrict

I added a setting where Momo has to go up high and long stairs to go from the street where his house is located to the downtown area where the department store and Nathan's recording studio are located.

I tried to show the rich-poor gap through the height difference.

When Momo climbs the stairs to the main street, even in the daytime,

the nearby buildings' shadows make it look dark. The stairs seem too difficult for young Momo to climb.

Cafe

It is a cafe with a warm and comfortable atmosphere where Momo often visits and spends time at.

It's a small, humble cafe, but it's a place of rest and comfort for Momo.

Momo's Apartment

Dark / Dull / Somber / Mold

Section

There are two radiators and two lights on each floor, but the lights don't light up well.
On the fifth floor, where Lola lives, there is a chair that Madame Rosa,

who has some difficulty climbing the stairs due to her weak physical condition, has set up to rest in the middle.