To what extent the French New Wave may have influenced Canadian direct cinema and cinéma vérité in the 1960's

Résumé du document

"In nature, the movement of waves may repeat endlessly with rhythm of seas, but in French cinema, the wave of 1959 remains unique" (Michel Marie: 2). Since February, 1959, a "myth" was created around the French New Wave which progressively became one of the most crucial movement in world cinema history. The mystery which surrounds this "label" firstly created by the popular press in France has captured a strong public interest worldwide and triggered a controversial debate among scholars who have attempted, with difficulty, to define it properly. In Canada, a new Film Board series and Candid Eye launched by Terry Filgate and Wolf Koenig in 1957 marked the beginning of new artistic movements in Canadian cinema, the ones of direct cinema and cinéma vérité. These approaches are difficult to identify because of their diversity and their evolution.

Extraits

[...] Indeed, Michel Marie asserted that Glauber Rocha was inspired by many Italian neorealists, especially Rossellini and De Santis (132). For instance, in Cahiers du Cinéma, Jacques Rivette established a link between Italian Neo-realism and direct cinema saying that “Rosselini's movies, although staged, also obey this aesthetic of direct cinema, with all the advantages that entails, with all its impossible risks, tension, chance, and providence” (14-15). Jean Rouch (1917-2004) was a French anthropologist (rather described as ethnographer in France) and filmmaker who developed a new style of ethno- fiction especially dealing with African social issues. [...]

[...] Dir. Jean Rouch. Writ. Jean Rouch. Stu. Les Films de la Pléiade Le Beau Serge. Dir. Claude Charol. Perf. Edmond Beauchamp, Gérard Blain, Jean-Claude Brialy. Writ. Claude Chabrol. Stu. [...]

[...] Stu. NFB Notre-Dame de Paris. Dir. Jean Delannoy. Perf. Gina Lollobrigida, Anthony Quinn, Alain Cuny, Robert Hirsh. Writ. Jean Aurenche and Jacques Prévert (from the novel of Victor Hugo). Stu. Paris Film Productions, Panitalia Pour la poursuite du monde. Dir. Michel Brault, Pierre Perrault, Marcel Carrière. Perf. [...]

[...] Moreover, as Claude Chabrol during the filming of Le beau Serge (Chabrol, 1959), Denys Arcand who is today a major figure of Canadian cinema was an inexperienced young man of 20 years old in 1961 who desired to try his hand at directing his fellow students in a free manner. Finally[30], Italian Neo-realists and Jean Rouch desired to shoot things as they were with a personal manner perceiving the director as an artist, as an auteur[31] who had to shape his source materials according to his own aesthetical and theoretical views[32]. [...]

[...] Stanley Jackson, Léopold Tremblay, Alexis Tremblay, Abel Harvey. Writ. Michel Brault, Pierre Perrault. Stu. NFB Roma, città aperta Dir.Roberto Rossellini. Perf. Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani, Marcello Pagliero. Writ. Sergio Amidei, Federico Fellini. Stu. Minerva Film spa Seul ou avec d'autres. Dir. Denys Arcand, Stéphane Venne et Denis Héroux. [...]