A Propos de Nice (1930)

 Jean Vigo & Boris Kaufman's "A Propos de Nice"


In 1929, Jean Vigo worked as an assistant cameraman for a small company in Nice, France. After being given $250 by his wife's father-in-law, Vigo bought himself a Debrie camera. During that summer, Vigo met Boris Kaufman, brother of Dziga Vertov, the genius filmmaker behind 1929's masterpiece "Man with a Movie Camera." Vigo pitched an idea similar to "Man with a Movie Camera" to Kaufman. Vigo and Kaufman, along with their wives, constructed a script about the city of Nice. 

Using documentary footage of real location in Nice, Vigo and Kaufman showcased the vast disparity between the frivolity and boredom of the upper-class citizens and their impoverished counterparts struggling in the slums. The film is completely silent, aside from the musical accompaniment. Its image demonstrates the day in the life of people living in Nice in 1929 and the film's editing commentates on those lives. The film is only 23 minutes in length and therefore, does not get to explore its commentary that much deeper. It acts as a little brother to "Man with a Movie Camera," only it does not demonstrate the corruption of the keeper of the images we're seeing. Rather, it is a quick and simple construction meant to showcase a time and a place, as well as a critical look at that time and place. 



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