Friday, July 05, 2013

Orchidées

[BONUS MOVIE originally belonging to A Hundred Years Ago Programme 7 screened earlier today, 5 July 2013]

FR 1913. P: Éclair Scientia. 35 mm. 93 m /18 fps/ 5'. Da: AFF / CNC. Cinema Lumière - Sala Officinema/Mastroianni (Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna), accompagnamento al piano di Antonio Coppola, earphone commentary in Italian and English, 5 July 2013

A charming entry in Éclair's scientific series. My favourite in it is La Torpille, where we witness an electric ray lighting a light bulb. I can't help thinking about Balzac. This time we visit a greenhouse full of orchids. There are little frogs on their petals. We see different species such as Cattleya and Cypripedium. We see how seeds are germinated manually. There is time lapse footage about the life of orchids. Thus in this movie, too, "sped up, the life of the plants turns Shakespearean" (André Bazin). It all ends with a beautiful image of a woman with orchids. The print is fine.

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