5 unforgettable films about photography

Photography is an art, as is cinema, and I like to think that these two genres, worthy heirs of painting and the ancient theater, have inspired many directors. Between war photographers, utopian romance, travel, or black and white murders, photography is in everyone's daily life. Here is a selection of five major works :

1. The bang bang club (2010)

Synopsis: During apartheid in South Africa, racial cleavages rage in neighborhoodspoor. On site, four ambitious photographers decide to survey the region from coast to coast to realize the most revealing picture of the context of the time. A media war between these four competitors then begins, with the winner winning the Pulitzer Prize. But how far are they willing to go to benefit from this reward?

True story, inspired by the life of a group of four photojournalists working in the townships of South Africa between 1990 and 1994, during the transition from apartheid to the first multi-racial general elections, while the ANC and IFC were fighting each other.Kevin Carter, Greg Marinovich, Ken Oosterbroek and João Silva are the four photographers associated with the Bang-Bang Club label, although they have worked alongside many other photographers like James Nachtwey or Gary Bernard..

2. Rear Window (1953)

Synopsis: Due to a broken leg, reporter-photographer L. B. Jeffries is forced to stay at home in a wheelchair. A man of action and adventure lover, he realizes that he can take advantage of his forced immobility by studying the behavior of the inhabitants of the building he occupies in Greenwich Village. And his observations lead him to the belief that Lars Thorwald, his neighbor opposite, murdered his wife. His fiancée, Lisa Fremont, does not take him seriously at first, joking about the excitement of watching him, but ends up playing games ...

This film is considered by many viewers, critics and film specialists as one of Hitchcock's best films, which, given the movie's monster, is the movie you are placing. Rear Window works largely on the field-countermotor model, by three scenes, then the space is then seen from several angles, thus becoming objective. Genius in terms of staging. To note, to write the screenplay of Fenêtre sur cour, Hitchcock would be inspired by the incipient idyll between Ingrid Bergman and Robert Capa while the latter was a photographer on the set of the movie "The Chained".

3. The secret life of Walter Mitty (2013)

Synopsis: Walter Mitty is an ordinary man, employed in the negative service of Life magazine. Shy, he imagines himself to be the hero of imaginary adventures to escape his stressful reality, locked in his daily life. But faced with a difficulty in his professional life, Walter must find the courage to take action in the real world. He embarks on an incredible journey, to live an adventure much richer than anything he could have imagined so far. And who should change his life forever.

Released in 2013, it is an adaptation of James Thurber's new The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, published in 1939. Beyond the humorous side of the film, walter Mitty's dream life is for all dreamers having never dared to take the step of adventure. It is an ode to life, to love, and to the desire to go to the other. A real message of hope, against a backdrop of travels and adventures, accompanied by a thunderous soundtrack. My favorite of the year 2013.

4. Midnight Meat Train (2008)

Synopsis: Leon Kaufman revealed his photographic talent through highly provocative shots. Determined to create the event for his next exhibition, he is ready to go even further in exploring the darker aspects of humanity. Launched in an obsessive quest for the worst aspects of man, Leon is interested in a serial killer, Mahogany, who hunt down suburbanites taking the last metros to return home, before killing them with unimaginable savagery. Leon's fascination with this killer will lead him further and further into the meandering subway, right at the heart of the evil ...

Okay, this one is an horror movie, but it's still one of the best visions of street photography I've ever seen. The addiction of the main character, constantly pushing his limits and leaving himself in danger is captivating, or even tends to make us addicted by plunging us into this urban hell.The pursuit of the subject, always closer, going towards the other, capturing the moment, all these notions faithful to the street photographers, but without killer in series!

5. City of God (2003)

Synopsis: In a favela that was born in Rio de Janeiro in the sixties, Rocket is a black kid, poor, too fragile to become outlaw, but smart enough not to be content with a job under paid. He grows up in a violent environment, but tries to see reality differently, with the eye of an artist. He dreams of becoming a professional photographer. Petit Dice, an eleven year old child, moves into the City. He wants to become the biggest criminal in Rio and begins his apprenticeship by rendering small services to the local underworld. He admires Tignasse and his gang, who board the trucks and rob all the time. Tignasse gives Petit Dé the opportunity to commit murder, the first in a long series ...

Epileptic realization, image sublime sublime, impressive photography with its shimmering colors, and the typical local music adds to this atypical atmosphere, perfectly transcribed. The film is also relevant and denounces without clichés the violence of the favelas, the corruption of the police and the general hypocrisy of the system through shock scenes. Violent, The City of God is, incontestably. Exciting, intelligent, delirious, moving, funny, powerful, this is an indispensable film, that I like to advise around me as the disappointment is unlikely.

That's all folks, I tried to make a list as varied as possible with these five works of great quality. Each of them has marked me in its own way, from laughter to tears, to disgust, whether aesthetic or institutional. So I advise you to immerse yourself in these five stories out of the ordinary, and whatever the feeling provoked, they have something to teach, whether on culture, societal facts, or a simple philosophy of life, you should not come out unscathed.

Ludovic.

#photography #cinema