CHAPTER FIVE Cinéma Vérité

CINÉMA VÉRITÉ French film movement of the 1960s — that showed people in everyday situations with authentic dialogue and naturalness of action. Literally means “film truth“ — the term, translating Dziga Vertov’s kinopravda （电影真理报） into French — the “truth” refers to the truth of the encounter rather than some absolute truth. The innovation and evolution of the cinematic hardware — lightweight cameras and sound recorders

Film as catalyst — The documentarist as an avowed participant who tries to precipitate a crisis — bringing hidden truth to the surface. Participatory documentaries believe that it is impossible for the act of filmmaking to not influence or alter the events being filmed. What these films do is emulate the approach of the anthropologist: participant-observation. It allows filmmaker to account for past events via witnesses and experts whom viewer can also see 

(Jean Rouch & Edgar Morin, 1960) I, a Negro (Jean Rouch ,1958 ) Chronicle of a Summer (Jean Rouch & Edgar Morin, 1960) Jean Rouch （1917-2004）

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PARTICIPATORY /INTERACTIVE MODE The acknowledged presence of the camera and crew Emphasis on the interaction between filmmaker and subject Heavily relying on interviews to reveal the subjective truth An emphasis on monologues and dialogues Representation of multiple viewpoints Editing maintains logical continuity No definitive argument, leaving the audience to decide

The comparison Cinéma Vérité (France) camera provokes subject: reality produced in the making of thefilm committed to a paradox: that articifical circumstances could bring hidden truth to the surface. The documentarist espouses that of provocateur. The documentarist as an avowed participant The documentarist tried to precipitate a crisis Cinéma vérité can involve stylized set-ups and the interaction between the filmmaker and the subject, even to the point of provocation Direct Cinema (U.S.) passive camera: no provocation reality pre-exists & must be respected finding its truth in events available to the camera. The documentarist plays the role of uninvolved bystander The documentarist aspires to invisibility The documentarist takes his camera to a situation of tension and waited hopefully a crisis Direct Cinema is largely concerned with the recording of events in which the subject and audience become unaware of the camera's presence. 6

The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988)