Candide Thovex’s One of Those Days 3: A Skier’s View of an Inventive Film

A pair of ski tips, a snowy approach and a dark opening in the rock ahead: even the still from Candide Thovex’s One of those days 3 makes you lean forward. The French skier’s film turns a mountain descent into a wonderfully mischievous piece of action cinema.

Which Candide Thovex film is this?

This is the third instalment of One of those days, published on Thovex’s official YouTube channel on 23 February 2016. His description identifies the filming location as La Clusaz, France, and presents it as the conclusion to the trilogy. You can watch the official film here.

The official upload gives this sequence a clear identity within Thovex's work: a named skier, a filming location and a place in a three-part series. That context helps when a short extract appears elsewhere without its beginning or ending. Return to the full film to see how the approaches, changes of scene and pacing fit together. The moment that looks most surprising in isolation may be even more effective after the sequence has prepared the viewer for it.

Why the viewpoint feels so immediate

Look at the foreground in the image. The skis give your eye a point of reference, while the approaching rock occupies the space where you expect an open slope. You can almost feel the change from bright snow to shadow before pressing play. That visual setup helps explain the appeal: the camera places the viewer inside the skier’s view of the terrain.

The original story’s question about whether it was “real” is too broad to settle from a thumbnail. The official upload establishes authorship and location; it does not document every production or editing decision. Enjoy the athleticism and the storytelling without assuming that the finished film is an uninterrupted, unplanned run.

Make a small ski-film double bill

Thovex links to the first film and the second instalment from his own description. Watching the series in order gives the third a little more context: the familiar title becomes part of the joke, suggesting an ordinary day for someone whose skiing looks anything but ordinary.

For a change of scenery, follow it with Clayton Vila and Cam Riley’s Boston street-skiing film. The city production adds a useful behind-the-scenes perspective on the crews and equipment that help turn an ambitious idea into a short sequence.

These are films to enjoy and discuss, not routes to copy from a screen. A camera view cannot show all the preparation or establish that terrain is suitable for another skier. What it can do beautifully is make a familiar sport feel fresh again.