Jean Rouch Movies

Henri Langlois was, in many respects, the ultimate film fan. In 1936, at the age of 22, Langlois became (along with Jean Mitry and Georges Franju) one of the founders of the Cinémathèque Française, a theater and museum devoted to preserving the history of the motion picture. Initially a tiny operation financed by private funds, the Cinémathèque, with time, grew into Europe's most important film archive, collecting and preserving prints of rare films from all over the world and protecting many rare gems of the French cinema from destruction during the Nazi occupation of World War II. Langlois' enthusiasm for sharing the treasures of his collection with others helped spawn a film-crazy generation who created the French New Wave of the '50s, and in time, the French government acknowledged the importance of the Cinémathèque's work by financing their endeavors. In 1968, the French minister of culture, André Malraux, responded to Langlois' difficult personality and sloppy bookkeeping by pulling the government's financing of his projects, which led to an international outcry leading to the shutdown of the Cannes Film Festival by activists and film buffs. The Cinémathèque's funding and Langlois' leadership were later restored, and in 1973, his work in film preservation was honored with a special Academy Award. Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cinémathèque is a documentary which chronicles the life, times, and passions of the legendary archivist and includes interviews with his friends, contemporaries, and colleagues -- including Claude Berri, Claude Chabrol, Jack Valenti, and Daniel Cohn-Bendit. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Such documentary filmmaker legends as Jean Rouch, Frederick Wiseman, and Barbara Kopple appear in this loving tribute to cinema verite and its profound influence on film. Director Peter Wintonick, whose previous efforts include the acclaimed Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1993), makes a compelling case that Canada's National Film Board was at the vanguard of the cinema verite movement. The movie also features vintage footage of teen heart-throb Paul Anka and a behind the scenes look at John F. Kennedy's primary run for president. Both interviews and clips attest to the absorbing vitality that cinema verite brought to film. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Celebrated French documentarian and ethnographer Jean Rouch here returns to his beloved Africa as he follows the journey of three African men who live along the River Niger in a place that is drying up. They have decided to take a tour of the Netherlands and study the use of windmills in moving water around for irrigation and other purposes. Rouch is practically the inventor of cinéma vérité, and uses its techniques here to great effect as he follows these local leaders on their journey and films their interactions and discussions. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A young nurse is hired to care for patients in a mental institution in this insightful drama taken from the stage play by Julius Amede Laou. She begins to work with a longtime patient, a black woman from Martinique who has spent 50 years in the facility. Jenny Alpha-Villand and Sylvie Laporte co-star with Catherine Rougelin. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

A celebrated artist (Gilbert Mazliah) is invited to paint a mural on the fairy-tale castle purchased by wealthy nobleman and art patron Sir Richard (Gianfranco Barberi). Gilbert joins a group of kids at play while he is searching for inspiration for the project. He produces child-oriented artwork rather than what was requested by his befuddled benefactor. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Many documentaries have looked at the grimmer side of the Nazi occupation of France: at the lives of collaborators and resistance figures. This documentary looks instead at the daily lives of survival-minded ordinary people, and the French people's undaunted desire to live and enjoy life even under the occupation. French entertainers performed for the Germans, and Frenchmen also attended German entertainments. Virtually the day after French cities were occupied, newspaper advertisements for restaurants appeared in German. French madams reminisce about their brothels' German customers, and one madam suggests that her German clients were cleaner (and thus preferable) to her later American ones. The question of how to balance survival against activities which were clearly collaborationist is explored. The distinction between these is shown to have been fuzzy indeed, the subject of many disagreements then and now. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Three people from the country travel to the big city to seek employment in this documentary that contrasts primitive and modern life in Nigeria. After they have money, the three return to their native village to resume shepherding and hunting. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

A sextet of French filmmakers collaborated on Six in Paris (originally Paris vu Par...) Jean Douchet directed the film's first episode, "Saint Germain-des-Pres," the story of the up-and-down relationship between a male model (Jean-Francois Chappey) and an American coed (Barbara Wilkin). Jean Rouch's "Gare du Nord" is a haunting twist-of-fate tale involving a suicidal handsome stranger (Gilles Queant). Written and directed by Jean-Daniel Pollet, "Rue Saint-Denis" unites an experienced prostitute (Micheline Dax) with a garrulous customer (Claude Melki). "Place de l'Etoile," a Chekhovian guilt trip involving salesman Jean-Michael Rouziere and shabby, supposedly dead street person Marcel Gallon, was Eric Rohmer's contribution. Jean-Luc Godard's "Montparnasse-Levallois," photography by American documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, finds Joanne Shimkus in an imaginary menage a trois. Six in Paris is topped off by Claude Chabrol's "La Muette," wherein a family man (played by Chabrol himself) comes to grief when he purchases a pair of earplugs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed in French, the Canadian Adolescents consists of three short tales of the trials and tribulations of teenhood. In "Fiametta", Micaela Esdra moons over her deceased father, whose omniprescent memory squelches her mother's latest romance. "Genevieve" features Genevieve Bujold and Louise Marleau as close friends who drift apart after handsome Bernard Arcand honors Bujold with a kiss. And in "Marie-France and Veronica", Veronice Duval and Nadine Ballot simultaneously experience a sexual awakening while visiting Paris. Though three directors worked on The Adolescents, the film maintains a consistency of mood and quality throughout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anthropologist Jean Rouch directed this experimental film with a technique of "acting out," like in a classroom. He went to the Ivory Coast in Africa and visited a school that has a mix of white French students and black Africans then explained to them what they would be acting out and allowed them to improvise. Once his various scenarios are completed, the "actors" discuss their characters. Based on the knowledge they gain in performing the suggested pieces and in their analyses, the actor-students then are assigned a final sketch to improvise. Obviously this type of film is more for educational venues than theatrical showings. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide