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''Chronicle of a Summer'' (French original title: ''Chronique d'un été'') is a 1961 French
documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
shot during the summer of 1960 by sociologist Edgar Morin and
anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
and
filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
Jean Rouch Jean Rouch (; 31 May 1917 – 18 February 2004) was a French Filmmaking, filmmaker and anthropologist. He is considered one of the founders of cinéma vérité in France. Rouch's practice as a filmmaker, for over 60 years in Africa, was char ...
, with the technical and aesthetic collaboration of Québécois director-cameraman
Michel Brault Michel Brault, OQ (25 June 1928 – 21 September 2013) was a Canadian cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He was a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the Nationa ...
. The film is widely regarded as structurally innovative and an example of ''
cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ) is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about '' Kino-Pravda''. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or highlight subje ...
'' and
direct cinema Direct cinema is a documentary genre that originated between 1958 and 1962—principally in Quebec and the United States—and was developed in France by Jean Rouch. It is a cinematic practice employing lightweight portable filming equipment, han ...
. The term "cinéma vérité" was suggested by the film's publicist and coined by Rouch, highlighting a connection between film and its context, otherwise referred to as reflexive documentary. Brault confirmed this in an interview after a 2011 screening of ''Chronique d'un été'' at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. The film was screened at the
1961 Cannes Film Festival The 14th Cannes Film Festival took place from 3 to 18 May 1961. French writer Jean Giono served as jury president for the main competition. The ''Palme d'Or'' was jointly awarded to '' The Long Absence'' by Henri Colpi and '' Viridiana'' by Lu ...
where it won the
FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...
International Critics' Prize. In a 2014 ''
Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (formerly written ''Sight & Sound'') is a monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Since 1952, it has conducted the well-known decennial ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time. ...
'' poll, film critics voted ''Chronicle of a Summer'' the sixth-best documentary film of all time.


Synopsis

The film begins with Rouch and Morin discussing whether it is possible to act sincerely on camera. A cast of real-life individuals are then introduced and led by the filmmakers to discuss topics related to French society and working-class happiness. At the movie's end, the filmmakers show their subjects the footage and have them discuss the level of reality that they thought the movie achieved.


Production

''Chronicle of a Summer'' was filmed in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
Saint-Tropez Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var departments of France, department and the regions of France, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, o ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. Rouch used
synchronized sound Synchronized may refer to: * Synchronization (US) or ''synchronisation'' (UK), the coordination of events to operate a system in unison * ''Synchronized'' (album), a 2002 album by Sheavy * Synchronised (horse) (2003–2012), a racehorse *, a progra ...
, using a
16 mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...
camera connected through pilottone with a prototype of Nagra III, a transistorized tape recorder with electronic speed control developed by
Stefan Kudelski Stefan Kudelski (27 August 1931 – 26 January 2013)
Nagra
was a Polish audio engineer known for creating ...
.


Cast

All cast members appear as themselves. *
Jean Rouch Jean Rouch (; 31 May 1917 – 18 February 2004) was a French Filmmaking, filmmaker and anthropologist. He is considered one of the founders of cinéma vérité in France. Rouch's practice as a filmmaker, for over 60 years in Africa, was char ...
* Edgar Morin * Marceline Loridan-Ivens * Marilù Parolini (as Mary Lou) * Angelo * Jean-Pierre Sergent * Jean (worker) * Jacques Gautrat (worker) * Nadine Ballot (student) *
Régis Debray Jules Régis Debray (; born 2 September 1940) is a French philosopher, journalist, former government official and academic. He is known for his theorization of mediology, a critical theory of the long-term transmission of cultural meaning in ...
(student) * Céline (student) * Jean-Marc (student) * Modeste Landry (student) * Raymond (student) * Jacques (office workers) * Simone (office workers) * Henri (artist) * Madi (artist) * Catherine (artist) * Sophie (One cover girl) * Véro (young girl, uncredited) * Maxie (Jacques' wife, uncredited) *
Jacques Rivette Jacques Rivette (; 1 March 1928 – 29 January 2016) was a French film director and film critic most commonly associated with the French New Wave and the film magazine '' Cahiers du Cinéma''. He made twenty-nine films, including '' L'Amour fo ...
(cameo, scene deleted)


See also

* '' Inquiring Nuns''


References


External links

*
''Chronicle of a Summer: Truth and Consequences''
an essay by Sam Di Iorio at the
Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...
* 1961 documentary films 1961 films French documentary films French avant-garde and experimental films Self-reflexive films Films directed by Jean Rouch Films produced by Anatole Dauman 1960s French-language films 1960s French films {{France-documentary-film-stub