A propos de Noce, Jean Vigo

...

During his presentation at the Vieux Colombier in Paris, the film was welcomed under boos and whistles while some, soon to be part of the future "clan Vigo", exclaimed their enthusiasm modestly.

On the other side of the Atlantic, we have Charles Sheeler and Paul Strand who represent a day in the life of a city in a more conventional way, mainly due to a more standard montage.

Manhatta, shot in 1921 oscillates between a narrative of the daily life of the city and the much more abstract and unusual form of capturing an atmosphere, classed as the first American avant-garde film.

The product is a unique and brief collaboration between the photographer Paul Strand and the painter Charles Sheeler. Two central figures in American art of the early twentieth century, Charles Sheeler known above all as a painter and Paul Strand as a photographer.

Sheeler was a photographer as well, but above all a painter, one needs to consider that the film is based on two principles: the modern medium, photography and the traditional canvas of the artist. As Horak (1995,271) identifies:

“ The long shot of the skyscrapers creates a unified space, positioning the viewer in relationship to the horizon in the manner of Renaissance perspective".

He is not the only one to take into account positioning; the short film is shot within a five block radius. The film features scenes from Broadway, Wall Street, Staten Island ferry dock, Trinity place and Battery Park.

This modernist document of Manhatta is accompanied by quotations from Walt Whitman that constitute the subtitles. A particular American tradition of poets words as subtitles yet far removed from the urban vanguard of the 1920s.

The use of abstract and experimental framing has been used to differentiate this film from others of that time. Shooting from height gives the camera power as if creating a sense of observation of the world below.

A sense of grandeur is created, through the height of the buildings that tower above the camera, the sea of people on the ground and the Hudson that represents trade and wealth. A celebration of scale that is undoubtedly ushered into their montage. Not only a celebration of scale but a love story of Manhatta's diversity, size, architecture and passion that is expressed in the first intertitle by Whitman (1900,115):

" City of the World (for all races here;

City of tall facades of marble and iron

Proud and passionate city."

I chose these two films because I feel that they have sharp contrasts while being the same genre (Cityscape). Manhatta a 9-minute film that brings together three mediums: photography, painting and cinema. Composed by two artists well established in the art scene already. A Propos de Nice is made by two artists who were not so famous; the film emulates the freedom that the two artists had for being rather unknown. The film is critical yet humoristic at the same time; you would be incorrect to think that this film was made to be a celebration of Nice as Manhatta is to New York. Manhatta feels more regulated with subtle artistic features for the well-tuned eye, whereas the masses can easily understand the main subject of a Propos de Nice. A Propos de Nice may have its subtle nuances. Nevertheless, its primary subject of inequality is not hidden away. Regularly reminded the audience is guided through this short film of social criticism. I feel that Manhatta wanted to be successful and therefore had to adhere to a more mainstream formula. A Propos de Nice was used as a medium to tell a particular truth. Vigo succeeded by not having boundaries where he successfully intertwined a critical film and a cityscape. One may question what does a Cityscape need to be composed of? Should it be a film of landscapes and buildings for a more factual insight into a city or should it be a film where you get a feel for the city? The still frames applied in Manhatta allow more freedom of thought for the audience as if they were looking at a painting or a picture and create a more picturesque film. However, a far more embedded view is used to get the full picture of a day in Nice rather than the more distant one employed in Manhatta. Vigo's shuttle runs up and down the boardwalk paid off.

Bibliography:

Books:

- Barnouw, Erik (1993) Documentary: A history of non-fiction film, Oxford, Oxford University press.

- Horak, Jan-Christopher (1995) Lovers of cinema: American film Avant-Garde 1919-1945, Madison, University of Wisconsin press

- Whitman, Walt (1900) Leaves of grass: City of ships, Philadelphia, David McKay

Journals:

- JUAN A. SUÁREZ (2002). City Space, Technology, Popular Culture: The Modernism of Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler's Manhatta. Journal of American Studies, 36, pp 85-106 doi:10.1017/S0021875802006783

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Internet sources:

- 1: Polito, Robert A propos de Jean and Boris https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1975-a-propos-de-jean-and-boris [ accessed 13/02/2017]

- 2: Almereyda Michael: Jean Vigo https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1976-jean-vigo [accessed 13/02/2017]

- 3: Gariepy, Jennifer : Erich von Stroheim - Introduction" Twentieth-Century Literary Criticismhttp://www.enotes.com/topics/erich-von-stroheim#critical-essays-introduction

[accessed 13/02/2017]

- 4: Gunton, Sharon R."Luis Buñuel - Introduction" Contemporary Literary Criticism http://www.enotes.com/topics/luis-bunuel#critical-essays-introduction

[accessed 13/02/2017]

- 5: Crow, Jonathon: Entr'Acte: Rene Clair's Dadaist Masterpiece http://www.openculture.com/2014/11/entracte-rene-clairs-dadaist-masterpiece-1924.html

[accessed 13/02/2017]