Place de la République 1974–2004: The Sociological Time-Machine of Cinéma Direct

ABSTRACT

This paper proposes a comparative discussion of two documentary films shot in the same format, on the Place de la République, in Paris, thirty years apart. Taking stock of what seems to have changed radically and what shows a slower evolution, it focuses on personal narratives and social trends, traveling in time through the filter of “cinéma direct.” The analysis of the two works balances a detailed discussion of selected topics that surface during the interview process, with a background of key elements of contemporary French social history (women's rights, immigration, undocumented workers, laïcité) highlighting the transformation of the political climate from the post-May 1968 era into the Sarkozy presidential campaign. Working with a ten-year perspective on the 2004 film by Gayan and a forty-year distance from Malle's original work, this study takes advantage of the combined visual/textual research approach that the documentary film genre offers anyone interested in identifying and discussing crucial aspects of permanence and transformation in contemporary French society.

KEYWORDS:

• France
• documentary film
• “cinéma vérité”
• social discourse
• political climate

Notes

1. Jean Fourastié’s study points to the first oil crisis of 1973, a direct result of the “Nixon Shock” measures that abolished the Bretton Woods system, as one of the milestone dates for the slowing of the spectacular economic expansion of France begun in 1945 (43). The percentage of unemployment for the “active” population in 1966 in France was 1.6. In 1974 it had almost doubled to 2.8. In 1981 it had reached 7.4 (Rioux and Sirinelli 344).

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Notes on contributors

Olivier Bourderionnet

Olivier Bourderionnet has taught at the University of Utah, Agnes Scott College, and the University of New Orleans. His first book, Swing Troubadours: Brassens, Vian, Gainsbourg. Les Trente Glorieuses en 33 tours (SUMMA Publ., 2012) is a sociological study of the singer-songwriters of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. He has published articles in Contemporary French Civilization, Research in African Literature, and French Cultural Studies.