Lumiere and Companie (1995)(Lumiere et Compagnie)

The Lumiere brothers invented the motion picture camera in 1895 and made the first films somewhere around this time. In "Lumiere et Compagnie," this is considered common knowledge and not even discussed. Instead, to commemorate this birthday, a film was planned using the 100 year old camera. 40 international film directors were invited to make their own short movie using the original Lumiere camera. The remarkable pieces, from this diverse group of filmmakers, is astounding viewing.

The directors included here are Merzak Allouache, Theo Angelopoulos, Vincente Aranda, Gabriel Axel, J.J. Bigas Luna, John Boorman, Youssef Chahine, Alain Corneau, Costa-Gavras, Raymond Depardon, Jaco van Dormael, Francis Girod, Peter Greenaway, Lasse Hallstrom, Michael Haneke, Hugh Hudson, James Ivory, Gaston Kabore, Abbas Kiarostami, Cedric Klapisch, Andrei Konchalovsky, Patrice Leconte, Spike Lee, Claude Lelouch, David Lynch, Ismail Merchant, Claude Miller, Idrissa Ouedrago, Arthur Penn, Lucian Pintilie, Jacques Rivette, Helma-Sanders Brahms, Jerry Schatzberg, Nadine Trigtinant, Fernando Trueba, Liv Ullman, Regis Wargnier, Wim Wenders, Yoshishige Yoshida, Yimou Zhang.

There were three rules set up by the producers, most of which had to do with the constraints of the camera itself. One - their films would be 52 seconds, a single roll of the film which can fit in the camera. Two - No synchronized sound could be used (although many of the pieces use soundtracks that are fairly close just as some use no sound and others "wild tracks") and there is a maximum of three takes (although it is shown that one director got four). Content, style, story (if any) were left entirely up to each individual filmmaker. And the result is a collage of cinematic wonder that must be witnessed to be fully appreciated. In using this antiquated filmmaking technique, the finished product becomes even more original, even more artistic, even more profound. More than just homage or novelties, the finished works here are highly stylized, wonderful art "shorts." Ah, but even this is inadequate to describe them. They hit a nerve with us. They become a representation of film for the last 100 years and in doing this, they becomes representations of life itself. The whole sociological history of life on Earth these past hundred years somehow seems to be fully realized here.

There is so many pieces, close to 40 I presume, and their varied content so unique that it is impossible to discuss them all here. The film begins with two Lumiere pieces. The first is a little girl taking precarious steps (much like the first filmmakers). This is soon followed by "L'Arrivee d'un train a la Ciotat," a film which is forever ingrained in cinema history because of the unique story of it's first exhibition when film was still a new novelty. When it was first shown by the Lumieres, almost all the audience had never seen a film before. When the train arrives, moving toward the camera on screen, the audience panicked, thinking it was a real train headed for them. This piece is soon paid homage to by an updated piece from one of the participants. The effect is astounding. Devoid of sound and unnerving in it's motionlessness, a seeming abandoned train platform is shown, and if it isn't the exact spot where the original Lumiere film took place, it sure looks like it. Finally, the film comes to life when a train, a modern sleek one, passes on screen. Instead of stopping, as in the original, it simply speeds by. Instead of being peopled with citizens as in the original, here in modern times, the train station is abandoned. It makes a profound statement.

The pieces continue, although they are all broken by modern color video of the making of the Lumieres. (More about this in a moment). Many pieces stand out. A kiss between a young couple, who look like they have Downes Syndrome, recalls the beauty and the stillness of Andy Warhol's early film. (His first series of films being portraits and one- shots of couples kissing). This stillness seems prevalent in almost all of the films. Strangely, the films often have the participants look directly in the camera, as if recalling early silent films and our own home movies. The effect can be quite eerie as often as it can be humorous or quaint.

Two of the films of the Asian filmmakers and one by a Spanish director are political, if others aren't indeed also. The Asian filmmakers use the medium to study Hiroshima, one as a tribute using children at a memorial that is astounding. The piece begins in sky, which is white in black and white Lumiere photography (recalling the bomb blast), before moving to children running towards a memorial. The youths throw flowers on the memorial and then the camera begins to dolly toward an empty park bench, obviously symbolizing those lost in the attack, before panning back to the children at the memorial, who in turn run joyously back toward the bench (and at the camera). A couple of youngsters get up on the bench and jump off in joyous reverie for those lost. It is an astounding piece, lasting, of course, 52 seconds.

Many of the pieces celebrate filmmaking with a tribute to a lighting director (Louis Couchet) and a tribute to Sven Nykvist (starring him as well). Often times the camera shows us a camera looking back or a camera filming other things. A scene by John Boorman includes a bit of the filming of "Michael Collins." Peter Greenaway's piece is an artistic tribute to not only the Lumieres, but also the passage of a century.

The most amusing pieces in the film come from the Africans. One piece also looks at filmmaking in a way but, as is probably more true from their view, the piece is more about the film coming to their local theater rather than a film being made. One of the others involves a waterside event where a joke is played on a local swimmer that is so amusing it caused me to actually laugh out loud.

But the most awesome piece in the film is surely the next to the last, the piece by David Lynch. Recalling his sordid worlds of "Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks," the film also recalls his "Eraserhead." Lynch may cheat a little (it is not clear if he stops the camera and moves it for a moment), but the fished piece is astounding. The murder of a young woman is explored with remarkable intensity and in pure Lynchian terms in the short allotted time. It is a beautiful piece that simply must be seen by anyone who admires the director.

The pieces of Lumiere film shorts from each directors is broken up by scenes of these artists making the pieces we see. Often, we get to watch a director at work, shouting instructions for 52 seconds or so and then in turn watch the finished product and suddenly glean what he was shouting about. Also, the filmmakers are asked questions throughout including: Why are you doing this? Why do you make films? and Are films immortal? The answers, as varied as the pieces these men produce, are insightful, interesting and significant.

"Lumiere et Compagnie" reflects filmmaking in no uncertain terms. It has joy, humor, politics, history, art, imagery, symbolism, and diverse culturalism. It is more than just a simple celebration of the invention of the camera. "Lumiere et Compagnie," in no uncertain terms, is film itself.

Note: Finished document is directed by Sarah Moon.

There are appearances in the film by Bruno Ganz, Francois Mitterand, Sven Nykvist, Lena Olin, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Alan Rickman, Max Von Sydow, and Liam Neesom, among many others. Almost every filmmaker involved is shown, if not all. Some do not get interviewed, others speak quite verbosely.

Lumiere Cinematography by Didier Ferry and Phillippe Poulet. Music by Jean-Jaques Lemetre. A piece by George Bizet from "Carmen," as well as a piece by Franz Schubert, a piece by Johan Strauss and a piece by Bernard Herrmann are used. The Lynch piece uses music by he and Angelo Baadalamenti. A Billie Holiday song is also used.

The piece by Alain Corneau seems to be hand tinted, as was often done by early filmmakers, in particular George Melies.

A total of seven shorts by the Brothers Lumiere are used in the film.

In my Encyclopedia Americana from the 70's, it claims the brothers were chemists and invented the first film projector which could exhibit a motion picture to a large audience. They also invented a technique for color photography. One of them was quite interested in working on cancer treatments.

Report Card

Script: A+

Acting: A-

Cinematography\Lighting: A+

Special Effects\Make Up: A+

Music: A

Final Grade: A