Chronicle of a Summer

This groundbreaking 1961 documentary by filmmaker-anthropologist Jean Rouch and sociologist Edgar Morin helped establish the concept of cine´ma-ve´rite´ (a term introduced by Morin in the opening sequence). Rouch and Morin conduct on-the-street interviews in Paris, where the question “Are you happy?” is used as a springboard into the personal opinions of a diverse group of people. The filmmakers query African students, blue-collar workers, a concentration camp survivor, and even a secretary for the influential movie magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, all of whom give answers that reflect concerns both timeless and unique to the era (the film was shot in 1960, while France was still embroiled in the Algerian War). Rouch and Morin then gather the interviewees together to watch the footage, capturing the participants' reactions, which are passionate and (in many cases) strangely vitriolic. Rouch and Morin conclude their efforts with a debate among themselves, which they filmed at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris. Chronicle of a Summer was highly influential in its time as both a key piece of the French New Wave and a bold experiment in nonfiction filmmaking. Bowing on DVD and Blu-ray with a pristine 2K digital restoration, extras include the 2011 retrospective documentary Un e´te´ + 50, interviews, and a booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Sam Di Iorio. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (P. Hall)