El desembarco del congreso de fotografía en Lyon

From a boat descend the photographers who must participate in the congress of Lyone dividing in two diagonals to the right and left. After, someone greets the film operator. So the illusion of the dimension of the cinema is broken.

This film is a virtual remake of 'Sortie d'Usine', perhaps making it the first self-referential movie. Instead of the workers streaming out of the factory, we have fellow cinematograph specialists disembarking a liner for a congress. Instead of workers silently doing their masters' bidding, we have colleagues, friends, peers, fearlessly greeting the camera as equals.

This is a film about film - the Congressionists walk with their cameras; this film was precessed immediately for viewing at the conference. Already, the Lumieres' desire to 'objectively' record the world has turned into a naval-gazing admission of defeat, of the impossibility of objectivity untainted by subjectivity or ideology. Godard once suggested that the most honest film would be of a camera recording itself in a mirror. This film is an early grasping of what he means.

Considering that the Photographical Congress arriving in Lyon was a major event, I suppose you could call this one more important than the Lumiere Brothers' previous efforts because the event is something that most people wouldn't see a lot of the time. This film captures simply what the title suggests: a whole crowd of photographers coming off a ferry. Indeed quite a few of the photographers notice the camera and while some tip their hats in greeting, others notice the camera and refuse to be part of the film by dashing off the screen quickly.

At only a minute watching, this short documentary isn't a waste of time. It will probably only be interesting to people like me who, believe it or not, somehow find entertainment in watching these things. Audiences nowadays will find it pretty uninteresting--except for if you're a historian. In that case it's a must-see.

Neuville-sur-Saône: Débarquement du congrès des photographes à Lyon (1895)

The title of this Lumiere Brothers film pretty much tells you what you're looking at. We see a group of people walking off a riverboat and coming close to the camera who catches their every move. There's certainly nothing ground-breaking about this early "actuality" movie but if you're a fan of these then you're bound to enjoy this one. I always enjoy watching these because it gives you a great chance to see how things were so many years ago. This one here features a lot of people so you get a terrific idea of the type of clothing that was worn during this period as well as a chance to see the various other things going on. This here is well worth watching if you enjoy these movies.

This interesting footage is particularly worth seeing as a companion piece to, and as a comparison with, the Lumière classic, "La Sortie des usines Lumière". The two features have much in common, and they are interesting for many of the same reasons.

In both movies, there is a rather sizable crowd moving towards the camera, knowing that they are being filmed. The main difference is that this movie features professional photographers, as they arrive to attend a congress of a photographic society. Their reactions are largely the same as were those of the factory workers, but many of the "professionals" seem more determined to hide their curiosity. On the other hand, a number of them show their interest even more eagerly, tipping their hats in a particularly jaunty fashion, demonstrating a bit of showmanship of their own.

As with the footage of the factory workers, the motion towards the camera is effective, and here the background scenery also has some interesting details. This film is also self-referential in one interesting respect, since the subjects of the film were also its initial audience. It's all rather interesting to take in.