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direct cinema

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Titicut Follies

dir. Frederick Wiseman, 84 mins, 1967 (USA)

Highly controversial piece of American direct cinema, observing the inhabitants of an institute for the "criminally insane". Wiseman lets the camera linger on some gravely disturbing moments, illustrating the dehumanised existence of the severely mentally ill. Filming such scenes clearly raises some difficult ethical issues, although the long takes and sparse style do nothing to glamorise or make fun of the subject. The film was banned in the USA until 1992. ****

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Grey Gardens

dir. Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Ellen Hovde, Muffie Mayer, 94 mins, 1976 (USA)

Intimate and strange piece of direct cinema, which observes the lives of Edith Bouvier Beale, aunt of Jackie Onassis, and her daughter Edie, who live in a filthy, dilapidated mansion in East Hampton, New York. Has little in the way of immediate storyline and initially raised some ethical questions among critics about the extent to which the filmmakers exploited the eccentric pair - although both said they were pleased with the film. Personal relationships and lost time seem to form the central threads of the film. Extremely long takes, some of which seem pointless and unresolved, give the initial impression of few cuts. But, of course, the film was edited to just 94 minutes from hundreds of hours of raw footage. ***


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