Synopsis
In the summer of 1960, anthropologist filmmaker Jean Rouch and sociologist Edgar Morin set out to chronicle the everyday lives of Parisians using a mixture of intimate interviews, debates and observations. Artists, factory workers, office employees, students and others open up to the camera to share their experiences, fears and aspirations. The result became one of the decade’s most influential films, and redefined the documentary form.
A word from Tënk
Some rare cult films leave their mark on an era, while simultaneously leaving a mark on the history of film. We come back to them time and time again, always with the same fascination. As it ages, a film’s relationship to the contemporary world evolves: layer after layer, it reveals the source of its endless profundity. And what delight to know that the next time we watch, the enchantment will continue. That with each watching we’ll be just as enthralled.
Chronicle of a Summer has everything you would need to make history—Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch in the director’s chair, Raoul Coutard and Michel Brault (among others) behind the camera. The summer of 1960, in a France marked by colonialism, the Algerian War and the growing power of the working class who had begun to rattle their cages and dream of a new life. Lastly, the development of synchronized sound and portable cameras, heralding the emergence of direct cinema.
Combining sociological inquiry, technological revolution and formal attempts to access a higher truth—something more authentic than a staged social environment—Chronicle of a Summer is filled with imperfections, blunders and clichéd expressions, but still radiates with the promise of new possibilities and hope for a revolution in social mores. While the shortcomings of the post-’68 landscape didn’t allow for this marginal, authentic life that the workers dreamed of, sitting down to rewatch this call for modernity helps us connect with a specific kind of hope.
Naomie Décarie-Daigneault
Tënk's Artistic Director
