Voyage au Congo Clovis Bergère, University of Pennsylvania, in the journal American Anthropologist“An important film for understanding both colonial history and film history in sub-Saharan Africa." The duo sailed from Bordeaux on 18 July 1925. Voyage < Previous > Next. Allégret followed his example.

Cate Blanchett shares her list of films to inspire hope in support of the UN Refugee Agency to assist those without a place to call home amidst our global health crisis. In 2018, Travels in the Congo was restored and digitized by Les Films du Panthéon in collaboration with Les Films du Jeudi, with the support of CNC and the Cinémathèque française, and the help of the British Film Institute. [1], The documentary was not commercially successful, and failed to leave a mark in French popular culture.

Brett Berliner notes that when the camera depicts "young nude women with firm breasts", it suggests that Allégret's vision of Africa was that of an aestheticized and sensual Garden of Eden—a view that arguably derives from the idealization of the natural man by thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment.

In contrast, Allégret set out to portray African cultures in an objective way. View production, box office, & company info, Starmaker Allégret: From Gay Romance with 'Uncle' (and Nobel Winner) Gide to Simon's Movie Mentor. They stayed in French Equatorial Africa for ten months. After Travels in the Congo, Marc Allégret had a long career as a filmmaker and photographer. [1] The film debuted on 8 July 1927, opening at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier. In 1925, Marc Allégret accompanied André Gide on a journey to French Equatorial Africa, the Congo, as his secretary, and novice filmmaker. The defining feature of the country is … Title: The film debuted on 8 July 1927, opening at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier. This FAQ is empty. However, in the 1920s, this apparent fascination with the African body stood in contrast to widely-held European views that black people were neither beautiful nor worthy of artistic depiction. But the nitrate footage survived. —Dr. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. He did so by getting them accustomed to the camera before starting to film. MobutuThe definitive history and visual record of the rise and fall of Joseph Désiré Mobutu, ruler of Zaire (the Congo) for over 30 years. Travels in the Congo (French: Voyage au Congo) is a French documentary film, directed by Marc Allégret. The duo left their ship in the port of Matadi, then followed a train route to Kinshasa, and finally reached Brazzaville on 14 August. (1929).

[1], https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Travels_in_the_Congo_(film)&oldid=959702018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 30 May 2020, at 05:04. The director personally managed all aspects of production of this segment, including the scouting of suitably scenic locations for filming and choosing the locals who portrayed the parts. The mighty Congo River The DRC is truly vast. It depicts his expedition in French Equatorial Africa. [1][2] In the context of the 1920s, this would contrast Africa with the perceived decadence of Europe. Looking for some great streaming picks? [1], The film depicts the daily lives of eight ethnic groups, focusing on their agriculture, hunting, and fishing practices. On your return to Brazzaville cruise down closer to the opposite bank and head rapidly downstream, and view the cultural life and if lucky, river and wildlife of Congo-Kinshasa! Subject areas:Africa, African Studies, Anthropology, Cinema Studies, Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Studies, France, Historiography, History, Indigenous Peoples, Literature, Racism, Film History, Cinema Studies, Cultural Studies. He found their next stop, Conakry, more pleasant. Allégret started filming in this area. Porters carried the film’s negatives for months, through extreme heat and humidity. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Overnight in Brazzaville hotel midrange. [3][4], The duo would soon sail on the Congo River. [1] His debut film itself is considered a pioneering ethnographic film, and its methodology was influential in this genre. Unusual for its time Travels in the Congo (Voyage au Congo) is a largely observational documentary (with one dramatized sequence) showing aspects of the lives, culture, and built environments of diverse groups in the region, amongst them the Baya, Sara and Fula peoples, and without trying to shoehorn them into a dramatic narrative. Rachel Gabara, University of Georgia, in the journal African Studies Review“The film that emerged from their voyage stands as a singular account, through its images and their subtext, of the complex and uneasy power dynamics inherent in erotic exchange, between men and women, the young and the old, the photographer and the subject, the colonizer and the colonized."