Chronicle of a Summer

Chronicle of a Summer (French original title: Chronique d'un été) is a 1961 French documentary film shot during the summer of 1960 by sociologist Edgar Morin and anthropologist and filmmaker Jean Rouch, with the technical and aesthetic collaboration of Québécois director-cameraman Michel Brault.

Chronicle of a Summer
Chronique d'un été
Directed by	Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin
Produced by	Anatole Dauman
Narrated by	Jean Rouch
Cinematography	Michel Brault Raoul Coutard Roger Morillière Jean-Jacques Tarbès
Edited by	Néna Baratier Françoise Collin Jean Ravel
Music by	Pierre Barbaud
Release date	October 1961 (1961-10) (France)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

The film is widely regarded as structurally innovative and an example of cinéma vérité and direct cinema. 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.^[1] 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 where it won the FIPRESCI International Critics' Prize.^[2] In a 2014 Sight & Sound poll, film critics voted Chronicle of a Summer the sixth-best documentary film of all time.^[3]

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 and Saint-Tropez, France. Rouch used synchronized sound, using a 16 mm camera connected through pilottone with a prototype of Nagra III, a transistorized tape recorder with electronic speed control developed by Stefan Kudelski.

Cast

All cast members appear as themselves.

• Jean Rouch
• Edgar Morin
• Marceline Loridan-Ivens
• Marilù Parolini (as Mary Lou)
• Angelo
• Jean-Pierre Sergent
• Jean (worker)
• Jacques Gautrat (worker)
• Nadine Ballot (student)
• Régis Debray (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 (cameo, scene deleted)

See also

• Inquiring Nuns