What do the movies Cloverfield, Quarantine, and The Blair Witch Project all have in common? They were all shot cinéma vérité (true cinema) style. This was acutally a French film movement that made the film feel more natural and realistic. Rather than following the usual technique of shooting sound and pictures together, the film maker first tapes actual conversations, interviews, and opinions. After selecting the best material, he films the visual material to fit the sound, often using a hand-held camera. The film is then put together in the cutting room. Cinéma vérité is used to approximate truth moreso than other films. I think cinéma vérité is effective in doing just that. I loved The Blair Witch Project partially because it seemed so real to me because of the way it was shot and the fact that it was filmed as a documentary (though was actually fictional). I also really liked the other two movies I mentioned.
Quarantine actually showed a news team, following firefighters around as a feature story, with their camera in hand. It was a very good movie and very realistic. Cloverfield could've been a little better. The beginning was too long and therefore became irreleveant to the film's plot, I think. These aren't the only three movies that are filmed via cinéma vérité; these are just the ones I have seen.
So what makes cinemal verite so appealing to filmmakers and viewers? Realism is the artistic attempt to recreate life as it is in the context of an artistic medium. The artist’s function is to report and describe what he sees as accurately and honestly as possible. Particularily appealing to filmmakers, cinema verite doesn't require expensive equipment and special effects. The camera is usually small and lightweight so it's able to fit into people vehicles and other small spaces, creating an even more realistic feel to the movie.
All three of the cinema verite movies I saw were horror or suspensful movies. I think these are the best types of movies to be filmed cinema verite style. I say this because those are the types of movies that literally make you (well me, at least) feel like part of the film. And with cinema verite, this happens to an even greater extent.
That's all for now. I'd appreciate your opinions on cinema verite, if you've seen it!
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The only one of those three movies that I have seen is Quarantine. I think the idea of cinema verite is good, but I didn't really like watching it like that. Im sure some people prefer this genre of movies, just not me. The way the camera moved all the time and was never really still kind of gave me a headache and was almost making me sick. Good blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you for putting a name to that film style! I always said "first person" or something to that affect. I really enjoy this style, because it makes you feel like you're part of the movie and not just watching it. You can get more of a sense of what the characters are feeling and just by the change of speed (as if the character is running) you get an increase of suspense. The downfall of this film style is that sometimes the camera gets bouncing and swirling so much that it makes a person sick to their stomachs, literally. The movies that you listed were really good, with Quarantine being my least favorite. Nice work.
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