%C3%80 propos de Nice

propos de Nice is a 1930 silent short documentary film directed by Jean Vigo and photographed by Boris Kaufman. The film depicts life in Nice, France by documenting the people in the city, their daily routines, a carnival and social inequalities. Vigo described the film in an address to the Groupement des Spectateurs dAvantGarde In this film, by showing certain basic aspects of a city, a way of life is put on trial... the last gasps of a society so lost in its escapism that it sickens you and makes you sympathetic to a revolutionary solution.

Vigo, suffering from tuberculosis, worked as an assistant cameraman for a small company in Nice. After his fatherinlaw gave him and his wife 250, Vigo bought his own Debrie camera. In the summer of 1929 in Paris, Vigo met Boris and Mikhail Kaufman, the brothers of Dziga Vertov. Boris Kaufman was interested in Vigos idea about making a film on the city of Nice, and the two, together with their wives, created a script. Vigo saved ends of film from his work and the filming was underway by years end. In the film, Vigo wanted to avoid a travelogue approach and show the boredom of the upper class in the casinos and at the shore, and the struggle of the poor inhabitants in the slums. As Vigo and Kaufman were unable to shoot inside casinos, they decided to concentrate on the strength of their images and rely on the editing phase.The film begins with aerial shots and soon shows closer footage of palm trees and waves crashing ashore. The camera concentrates on people workers performing their daily chores and wealthy persons walking in the boulevards, sailing, playing games and relaxing at the Promenade des Anglais, as well as race car drivers competing in Grand Prix motor racing. After that, the film shows the poorer neighbourhood and poverty women doing laundry and children playing their simple games in the streets. This is followed by a carnival processions, masks and tourists dancing and celebrating. The film ends with images of statues and men working in a factory. ........

Source: Wikipedia