Cameraperson

I had such high hopes for this to work. The very title makes a huge promise, and it partly fulfills it, however You might find the Person not as charming as She thinks She is.

There's a dissonance between first two sequences of the film and the whole rest. Whatch these two. These are amazing - there the Camera really is the Person. The whole rest is pedestrian, with too much 'in your face' ideology and self indulgence.

'CAMERAPERSON': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A critically acclaimed documentary, based on the life work of veteran cinematographer Kirsten Johnson. The movie is a collage of samples from all of the different films she's worked on (over several years, in multiple different countries). Johnson also served as the director of the movie, while Doris Baizley and Lisa Freedman are credited as the writers. It has 100% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and it's considered one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2016. I think it's a tad overrated, but it is a well made (and beautiful looking) film.

The movie cuts together clips from several different films, all shot by Kirsten Johnson. It cuts back and forth, through the different movies (and through many different scenes), and it takes place over several years, and in several different countries. Johnson uses all of the different selected footage, that she's filmed, to tell a broad story about her life as a cinematographer. She even interviews her mother in it.

I think the film does a good job of showing a very wide selection of many different people's lives, all around the world (and in many different walks of life). It actually reminds me (quite a lot) of the YouTube documentary 'LIFE IN A DAY' (I did like that movie a lot more though). This film feels more aimless; but the individual scenes, on their own, are always interesting. It definitely does a good job of showing how a veteran cinematographer (like Johnson) gets to view the world; and now, thanks to her, so do we.

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"Cameraperson" is recent film by veteran documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson. It is composed of several different scenes that were filmed by Johnson over her career for various other documentaries all over the world. The images in this film may be familiar to some members of the audience because they were originally filmed for other documentaries. They aren't all final cuts though; many of them are clips of trying to set up the camera or getting the right angle or frame along with clips from the family life of Kirsten Johnson. The first thing that struck me about this film was how captivating it is from the first frame to the last; I could not look away from the screen no matter how opaque the shot might seem at the moment. The first twenty to thirty minutes or so will have most members of the audience, including myself, confused as to what exactly the point of the images we are seeing is. Patience is required in the viewing of this film. Once it clicks, and you'll know when it does, it becomes all the more engaging. This film tells many stories, not chronologically, but nonetheless effectively and perhaps all the more moving. At its core, "Cameraperson" is an autobiography of Kirsten Johnson. But it is also a meditation on human suffering, the wonder of the world around us, the ethics of nonfiction film, the sadly ironic contrast between the beauty of nature and the extent to which it can be defiled by evil, and an examination of the filmmakers own family. We see her in scenes taking place at her New York apartment, home in Colorado Springs, and far away ranch as she interacts with her mother, a victim of Alzheimer's disease, her father and her twin boys. These scenes are surrounded by scenes of shepherds in the Bosnian Mountains, desert plains, city streets, and government black sites. The ethics of documentary filmmaking, as I mentioned earlier, are also examined. Is it more moving to see images of a body that has been torn to shreds after being dragged by a truck, or to see the chain that dragged him being held by the prosecutor as he speaks about the atrocity? This question is answered in one scene, split in to two parts and book-ending several other scenes. In the first scene, we see the lawyer talking about the book of images that they distributed to the jurors to prevent causing further pain by having to show them in trial. The second comes directly after a conversation had with a film professor as he talks about the depiction of violence in nonfiction film and how it ultimately ends up being disrespectful, becoming entertainment. We then jump to a cut of the cover of the book of photos; we no longer want to see what's inside as we did before. Bringing attention to the art of filmmaking is also a theme in the film, particularly in recognizing the technical aspects of filmmaking. Most people don't think much about the cinematographer when they think about a great film. Shots are attributed to the director, but this film brings a special attention to the person behind the camera making all the shots work, and staring directly through the lens of the camera into the eyes of human beings. In film, especially nonfiction film, the cinematographer is responsible for establishing the human connection between the audience and the subject. "Cameraperson" does this especially beautifully because at the end of the film, we are able to see how the experiences and people Johnson has filmed connect her to them, us to them and her to us. This is an autobiography not merely because it is a compilation of the footage that has touched her throughout her extensive career, although it is that, but because she has her own story that is also full of pain, loss, love and life just like those she connects with as a Cameraperson.

"Cameraperson" is directed and photographed by Kirsten Johnson, distributed by Janus Films and released by Criterion. It had its premiere on January 26th at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. It is not rated. I gave it four out of four stars.

Kirsten Johnson's 2016 visual memoir. Johnson, a camera woman (or person to be fair) who has worked for years on documentaries compiles a series of scenes from the films she's shot to deliver a personal travelogue which ranges in locations as Gitmo, Africa, Bosnia & even her own homestead featuring unique glimpses of people like Bosnian survivors of their genocide from the recent past, child birth in Africa, & even her own young twin children at an early age. Perhaps one of the lingering moments from the film is footage from her mother (who passed away from Alzheimer's complications) still alive & while not being mentally vibrant, the image of her still walking among the living (at a time when she had long passed) is heartfelt & gripping. Nothing resembling a traditional narrative can be found here but if you're in interested in the visual mind of an artist & where they were at a given time, this is one for you.

Kirsten Johnson, an American cinematographer, directs this documentary using footage she has collected during the past thirty years.

This film's most praiseworthy attribute is its uniqueness. In snippets that last only a few minutes, each little story (over twenty of them, many of them revisited during the film) say so much in such a short amount of time.

The subjects vary as well: the effects of ethnic cleansing and gang rapes in Bosnia, the troubles relating to Al-Qaeda, a heinous crime in small-town, Texas. Johnson also focuses on troublesome domestic situations in her home country including her mother's fading health and mind.

While there seem to be many stories, they all seem to relate to a common theme of tragedy whether it be at the worldly or the personal level. Johnson has the great skill of giving the viewer just enough information to feel empathy but without being overwhelmed and numbed. In other words, she brings the viewer to her own deep level of humanity.