Rouch and Morin were some of the pioneers of the cinéma vérité style, which is apparent in Chronicle of a Summer. They use recorded audio and video footage to set forth meaning, which is a strong characteristic of the cinéma vérité mode. An aspect of the cinéma vérité mode is the attempt to “hide” the camera from the subjects, hoping they will forget about the presence of the camera and reveal their true selves. Rouch and Morin do this by physically being in the film, forcing their subjects to interact with them and not with a camera.
The audience is aware that the goals of the filmmakers are to obtain reality in the lives of ordinary people. There is an issue of whether or not the subject’s relationship to the camera makes them “act.” Because the filmmakers make their goals aware to the viewer, we are also examining this relationship. Towards the end of the film, we see the filmmakers walking down the corridors of a museum discussing the film and their goals to achieve "realness". Morin then states “ They either criticized our characters as not being true to life or else they found them too true.” Giving the subjects a chance to view their own lives through the eyes of the filmmakers also adds to the reflexivity of the film. We are again shown that this is indeed a film and we must view it critically. We know that the subjects are “extremely embarrassed” with, happy, or concerned with their representations in the film. The filmmakers stated that many times people do not know if they are acting; that the presence of the camera can “reveal the fictional side part of all of us.” This is also a quality of cinéma vérité, for it reveals the subject’s reaction to the presence of a camera.
1 comment:
Thanks Sarah for continually reminding us that we have a history of documentaries that is very intriguing and full of strange stories and characters-- sometimes the filmmakers themselves.
Prof. Spiro
Post a Comment