A PROPOS DE NICE - NOTES

A PROPOS DE NICE

9:00 - 14:00

- Fade the characters - express the different social classes.

- She becomes naked - underneath all the expensive clothing she is just like everyone else. 

- The hats represents different cultures

- Parallel music

- Music then stops and is replaced by a harsh eerie sound - which complements what is on screen. 

- It quickly cuts to the upper class enjoying life.

HOW IS A PROPOS DE NICE A SOCIAL COMMENTARY?

Jean Vigo created A Propos De Nice, for the spectator to see life through the eyes of the rich and the poor. It can be said that it is a social commentary as the camera shots and angles, mirror the documentary style of filmmaking. Towards the start we see a woman dressed in rich clothing, sitting on a chair leisurely. The shot then cuts and she suddenly becomes naked. This represents the notion that behind all the money and rich clothing, she is just a human; like everyone else. The shot then cuts to a boy covered in dirt, crying. This juxtaposition of the rich and the poor, emphasises how disregarded the poor are compared to the rich in that society. Therefore, through this juxtaposition, Vigo tries to critique the problems surrounding the mistreatment of the poor. Towards the beginning, Vigo uses music that is parallel to what is occurring in the film. This gives the spectator a sense of harmony as everything complements each other moving forward to the future. This can be seen as a social commentary as Vigo is expressing the idea of Futurism, and that everyone is alongside what the movement stands for. The many quick and straight cuts to different people having parties in the streets, presents the hectic Modernism movement as technical revolutions started to form and the population wanted to grow alongside it. This is similar to Vertov's Man With a Movie Camera as Vertov fully expresses the new movements in Russia such as: Modernism, Futurism and constructivism using the hectic world around him to present such ideas.