“Rouch and Morin [offer] a methodical, theoretically ingenious, and amazingly powerful aesthetic precursor to the social revolution of May ’68.” —New Yorker
In the summer of 1960, Jean Rouch and sociologist Edgar Morin set out to interview Paris residents. Their opening question—“Are you happy?”—expanded to conversations about political issues such the Algerian War and the Holocaust. The film documents these discussions, providing a sociopolitical diagnosis of the time and place. With Chronicle of a Summer, the directors coined the term “cinéma-vérité,” changing the course of cinema history. 1961, France, in French with English subtitles, 85 minutes.
Introduced by Joëlle Vitiello, Macalester College.