New Found Footage Film Version Of “Paradise And The Abyss”
Cinephilic Nostalgia in 2022
In terms of good enough to justify, the year 2022 appears to be one that will be dominated by films about films. Given the COVID-fueled shift toward staying in, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that moviemakers and audiences alike would indulge in cinephilic nostalgia and go full Cinema Paradiso on earlier forms of production and theater attendance.
A Glimpse into the Past: Vintage Cinemas
Enter The Fabelmans, Empire of Light, Babylon, and more; film directors portrayed as perplexed and dreamy modern heroes, vintage movie theaters raked by projector beams, and back-in-the-day mass motion picture of the kind that has instantly become as innovative as pay phones.
The Irony of Home Viewing
Paradoxically, most people will see these movies on their televisions. Home viewing, thanks to the time-honored meta-media known as home movies, is older than television. Since at least 1923, many of us have gathered with our families to see self-shot, self-projected movies in our living rooms. This analog dynamic, where safety-film celluloid and even magnetic tape frequently outlive their users, is often overlooked in today’s TikTok era.
Documenting the Undocumented
Bianca Stigter’s Three Minutes: A Lengthening and Annie Ernaux and David Ernaux-The Briot’s Super 8 Years are two unique found-material documentaries from this year. They delve deep into their footage, revealing as much about history as they do about what’s left unsaid.
The Fragility of Memory
Each of these movies tackles a universal problem: the fragility of memory. We film because memory is flawed. Once a moment is captured on film, it remains unchanged. Yet, it also highlights the many questions that remain unanswered.
The Passage of Time
As time progresses, home movies depict death, abducted children, and joys that have long since faded away. These regular occurrences in life, although visible, remain out of reach, having vanished into the past.
The Secret Auteurs
The two men who wielded the cameras years ago are the secret auteurs of both works. One Minute: A Lengthening is an extension of three minutes of 16mm film shot in 1938 in Nasielsk. David Kurtz, the cinematographer, is an Americanized Polish Jew who embarked on a grand tour of Europe. His footage, capturing a sunny region of Poland, becomes a poignant reminder of the impending war.
Genealogical Obsessions
Three Minutes personifies the cultural craze that has made 23andMe and Ancestry.com obsessions in America. The film’s main focus is on ignorance, deprivation, and loss, serving as a reminder of how much of life will always elude us.
A Distinct Feeling of Catastrophe
The Super 8 Years by Ernaux, narrated by Annie Ernaux, a celebrated French author, conveys a distinct feeling of catastrophe, providing a narrative that’s both haunting and poignant.
