Jean Vigo’s first film, a savage portrait of French society. Part documentary, part cinematic poem, with some spectacular sequences of the idle rich and Nice’s urban poor.
France 1930, 19 minutes
Programme Notes
Jean Vigo’s first film, a savage portrait of ‘the last twitchings of a society that rejects its own responsibilities to the point of nausea’, is a unique blend of realism, surrealism, candid camera and symbolic imagery, with some spectacular sequences of the idle rich (by cameraman Boris Kaufman) contrasted with Nice’s urban poor.
Comments
“Very original for its time. Some startling & contrasting images.”
“It grew on me – in spite of some very vertigo-inducing camerawork.”
“Jean Vigo justifiably unknown in this country it seems. Perhaps some music would have helped.”
“This short was a trifle long!”
“A rather toothless savage…..(ref. the Programme Notes)”
“Would have been more memorable if presented as an album of stills.”
“Trying very hard to work out which (film) was worse: A Propos de Nice (possibly) sub-titled Bored Frustrated Art Student in Cote d’Azur?”
“I thought the 19 minutes would never end!”