English title 'The Foam of the Days'
Considering Boris Vian's love of wordplay, how would you translate the title 'L'Ecume des jours'?
shareThe title has been translated as both "Froth on the Daydream" and "Mood Indigo, Foam of the Daze"; I particularly like the second part of the latter, and I don't know if there's an intentional pun on "days"/"daze".
"Écume" does mean foam or froth, but on a less literal level it's also used to allude to what remains, what's left behind, what's visible when the rest is hidden, what's at the very end, what's on the edge, what's rejected even. Remnants, residuals, undertow, scum... Apart from the obvious aquatic reference (the novel makes endless references about swamps, rivers and humidity), there's a lot of different ways to interpret the titles. It strikes me as referring to passing time, to death, and to what remains after you face death.
At the end of the day I like "Foam of the Daze", but I also think "Froth on the Daydream" is an appropriate title. Both bring in the oneiric/surrealist reference to dreams that wasn't in the original title. "Scum of the Days" would also work for me.
The film is an adaptation of Boris Vian's 1947 novel, whose title is translated to "Froth on a Daydream" (http://www.indiewire.com/article/why-michel-gondrys-mood-indigo-is-better-than-is-used-to-be-20140718)--makes more sense than "Mood Indigo."
And all the pieces matter (The Wire)share