Home Page | Alphabetic Index | Ratings Index | Web Resources

À propos de Nice (1930)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997
Less a travel documentary, more a scathing comparison of different classes, À propos de Nice is a window into the past. As early morning dawns on the French Riviera, the town of Nice gradually stirs for the day ahead. Cafe's set up their pavement tables, the streets are washed clean and the omnipresent palm trees are harvested. Soon the boulevards bustle with young and old alike, decked out in their finery and out to be noticed. There is a single thread which connects all of these visitors though; they're all wealthy and able to afford a vacation by the sea.

On the other side of the wall, displaced from the world of ballroom dancing, lie the real inhabitants of Nice. The people who run the bars, sell newspapers from their invalid cart and gamble forcefully in quiet alleyways. The contrast between the tourists, roasting on the beach in their heavy suits (no sunbathers yet), and the locals, casual in their laughter, is immense. A single purpose unites them but they share no idealogical common ground, even when the Mardi Gras takes Nice in its grip. Gaudy floats and paper-mache figures sway alarmingly, attracting crowds and showing the area at its best.

Jean Vigo cunningly distorts the precepts of documentary in À propos de Nice. Apparently a vision of summertime the French Cote d'Azur, various strange juxtapositions and experimental camera techniques reveal a whole alternative side. When the viewpoint moves it does so easily, whirling around as it looks high into the sky and giddily traces the form of archways. The cinematography by Boris Kaufman is entrancing, candid yet full of associations created by cutting images together.

Crowds are often filmed from a very low viewpoint, lending their faces an unusual look and occasionally stooping so far that the viewer voyeuristically peers up maiden's voluminous skirts. Vigo fully indulges his fascination with the female form, moving or static, clothed or nude. However, subtle satire (rather than the broader farce common nowadays) is the dominant theme. Sly asides on social issues, contrasting rich and poor, give À propos de Nice an ironic air. It could hardly be otherwise given the range of characters captured on film.

Home Page | Alphabetic Index | Ratings Index | Web Resources