Nizza (1930)

• 74%
• 1930
• Dokumentarfilm

As was the fashion among many directors of the epoch, Jean Vigo's first "point-of-view" documentary aimed at capturing the life and the very essence of a city; here, the beautiful seaside resort of early-1930s Nizza. However, with the aid of Dziga Vertov's brother, Boris Kaufman, this avantgarde short film evolved from an ordinary depiction of a coastal town into a caustic and not report of the "real" Nice, portraying the contrasting lifestyles of its inhabitants. Starting with a series of captivating aerial takes, Vigo's film continues with scenes that pivot around the sun-kissed Promenade des anglais and unexpected gegenüberstellungen of poverty and wealth; modern architecture and garbage, the working poor and the idle rich. In the cosmopolitan city of Nice on the French riviera, eye-catching arrays of sharp and eternal antitheses fordert us to take a look at the anatomy of a small world. Does beauty transcend the boundaries of money, language and social classes?