Film Review

Cinéma Vértié and Direct Cinema

Cinéma Vérité and Direct Cinema are very similar. Both techniques aim to elicit a 'real' response from the public. An example could be that the filmmakers ask for a random person from the public to answer a question or give a reaction to an event that occurs. They are like actors who do not know they are being filmed or that they are even actors in the first place.

Cinéma Vérité is when the filmmaker can participate with what is being filmed on camera, they are not stuck behind the camera being anonymous. Whereas, Direct Cinema is when the filmmaker does not participate in the events or results in front of the camera, being like 'a fly on the wall'.

A good example of Cinéma Vérité is 'Nanook of North' (1922). Robert J. Flaherty lived with the Inuit Artic natives for many years before taking a camera into the community. He focuses on a man called Nanook, and his family. The end result of the finished feature is considered the first "documentary" (1)

A good example of Direct Cinema is 'Grey Gardens' (1976). Albert and David Maysles explore the daily lives of two women, mother and daughter. Both mother and daughter have large personalities and live together, alone on an island estate (2)

Forgotten Silver

Mockumentary

This film seems believable and was released under the guise of a documentary about Collin McKenzie, until revealed it was fake. Released on 11th of September 1997, this film made a lot of 'historic' claims that happened before the real pioneers created/finished their inventions.  For example, flying before The Wright Brothers, having sound in film before 'The Jazz Singer' in 1927, and having coloured films before 'Cupid Angling' by Leon Douglass. Also, Collin McKenzie apparently 'made one of the largest man-made cities in New Zealand on the West Coast', this being a large scale biblical set for a film. To make this mockumentary even more convincing, the creators, Peter Jackson and Costa Botes, even got a famous film critic and historian, Leanard Malin, to attest to Collin McKenzie's significance.

I would suggest that most people should watch this film. I, at first, thought it was real and factual. But once I figured out this wasn't the case, I thought the outrageous 'facts' were really funny to watch. It's a good film for (not just) New Zealanders to watch for some good humor with SOME actual history to it, like when it talks about the real pioneers and when they had their breakthroughs.

References

1) http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2015/10-essential-cinema-verite-films-every-documentary-fan-should-see/ 

2) https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/grey-gardens-1976