Le secret de la chambre noire

I am a fan of the "the other Kurosawa" so I went into this optimistic. There are one or two interesting moments but neither of the leads can act and overall the experience is cringeworthy

I can hardly claim perfect knowledge, but to date I've watched several of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films and absolutely loved them. Based on what little experience I've had I should've known that 'Daguerrotype' would be anything except totally straightforward. The thrust is clear enough, certainly, but like some of his other works, there's considerable offbeat subtlety in the storytelling to one degree or another, and one or two small pieces of dialogue may hold the key to the entire film. Characterized chiefly by long quiet, with generally only Gregoire Hetzel's softly haunting, somewhat sorrowful score for accompaniment, this is surely built for a relatively select audience. For those receptive to Kurosawa's style, however, it should prove to be rewarding and well worth exploring.

Even at his most straightforward the filmmaker can be a bit of an acquired taste; those who are more unfamiliar may take some solace in the fact that this is one of those, as there comes a point where it's easier than not to see where the story is headed. Nonetheless, he tries and succeeds here in employing the underhanded nuance that he has elsewhere, weaving elements of horror and romance into the drama in variable amounts. This also serves to throw hiccups in the way that work to maintain an air of mystery, not to mention sustain an unmistakably disquieting atmosphere. All the while 'Daguerrotype' rides a fine line between mystifying and obvious, secretive and transparent, moving forward and going nowhere. If anything think Kurosawa has difficulty, in this instance, in achieving that perfect careful balance, and the movie strays off course one way or the other over these 130 minutes, ultimately landing on a narrative that more than not is just what it seems, after all.

Even if it's not as strong or fully absorbing as some of the man's other films, however, still by and large I think this is very well done, and quite worthwhile. The result may be imperfect, but Kurosawa's writing is still deep and shrewd, filled with great ideas and superb scene writing. His direction is as deft and delicate as it has ever been, surely one of the primary strengths here alongside Hetzel's stirring music. The cast is excellent, coming in a close second after the direction as they give finessed performances that underscore the best intelligence the title has to offer. I'm of the mind that Constance Rousseau stands out most in that regard, though at different points her co-stars including Olivier Gourmet and Tahar Rahim definitely prove their skills. And in every other capacity this is wonderfully well made, including superb filming locations and production design, crystal clear sound design, splendid hair, makeup, and costume design, and so on. In most regards this is just as solid as one would hope.

In some measure I think 'Daguerrotype' is a tad less satisfying than the likes of, say, 'Cure,' or 'Charisma.' Sometimes a wild swing produces a home run, and sometimes it's a line drive, a foul, or even a miss. This is far better than not, by all means, but whether one is a fan of the filmmaker or just broadly looking for something to watch, I don't know that it will completely meet one's needs or expectations. Still, I remain pleased with how good the feature is, and for someone of Kurosawa's caliber to not meet with absolute success still is far above and beyond what many others could dream of accomplishing. This 2016 picture may not wholly demand viewership, but as far as I'm concerned it's still well worth checking out if one has the opportunity.

Daguerreotype (The Woman in the Silver Plate) is a French-language film by a Japanese moviemaster, Kiyoshi Kurosawa. A young man takes a job as an assistant to an old-fashioned photographer. The photographer has fully abandoned all media beyond daguerrotypes, an 1800s technique of capturing images on silver plates. He keeps taking life-sized still photographs of his daughter, increasing the exposure time more and more, to the point where she has to stand still for hours on end for his camera to capture her. His obsession is inexplicable, and soon the daughter and assistant try to get away from the father's warped world and pursue their less deranged futures.

The atmosphere of the film is enticing, to say the least. It has a breath of old fashion, beyond just the primitive photographic techniques around which the plot revolves. The settings, the shots used, the manner of acting, somehow both subdued and overdone, all channeled old cinema in a pleasant, tranquil way. It helped transport me to a different world, where I almost forgot I was watching a movie.

But the atmosphere is the only constant in this movie. The rest of it is confused, and meanders between several different plot directions without rearing any of them to the point of interesting. Not to mention that it doesn't manage to make them consistent with each other. It seems that the beings captured in the plates of the daguerrotypes exist with no purpose, and the movie just plays out melodrama around them. The plot points are sadly soap opera-like, basic (trying to force someone to sell their valuable property for a big project when they don't want to, a daughter that wants to pursue her dreams outside of home while her father doesn't want her to leave, etc). I wish the interesting concept of saving living beings into metallic photographs was part of a more engaging, more inventive script.

I do like the duality between the two men, assistant and photographer, all the similarities and differences between them and how they pan out in terms of the ghostly photographs. An interesting mirror. But neither character was particularly likable, so their fates did not feel as impactful as they should have.

With all its 'negatives', Daguerreotype is still a stunning piece of cinema by a director that treats film as art. It just fails to entertain or to leave a lasting imprint.

As in so many cases of international co-production, or a director hoisted out of his own zone, the result is a mess. Production values are high but nothing makes sense. There is no Black Room as in the French title, and no effective use or depiction of the process of Daguerreotype as in the English. Camera history fans (who are numerous) will be misled by that title, and disappointed in the script's failure to use a fascinating technical story. Evidently the director wrote his own script, often a mistake. With so many story threads (none followed effectively) this looks like intended for a miniseries. Seven people are credited as producers of some kind: evidently they could not agree on what this film was to be? The actors zomb their way through, none connecting with the others, all looking as confused about the goings-on as the audience is. One tiny scene had some zing: an older woman materialises (unexplained) from the past and disappears into where is not stated. It did have frisson. Strangely, that actor is not credited in IMDb. The ghost stuff otherwise is completely uninteresting. Are the costumes and decor impeccable? No doubt, but for what result? The camera glides endlessly but to no effect.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa'a Daguerreotype is one of the most beautifully shot tales of the supernatural you are ever likely to see. This is particularly apt, seeing the plot concerns a modern master of one of the earliest forms of still photography, whereby images are captured on large silver plates. Take a bow director of cinematography Alexis Kavyrchine.

The movie also contains an extraordinarily creepy, apparition scene shot in daylight in a green house, that is supremely effective despite being unencumbered by loud noises, musical crescendos and layers of CGI. This segment should have opened a door to the film's climax. But it doesn't and therein lies some of the problems with Daguerreotype.

This is a film which is at least 20 - 30 minutes too long and by rambling on haphazardly following the course of a couple of less than riveting and unconvincing sub-plots, it tends to dig its own grave so to speak. Part of the reason for this, I think is that Kurosawa wants to add more tail to the film's key twist which occurs some half way through. The trouble with this however, is that modern audiences post Sixth Sense etc. will realise very early the reality of the situation and so many of the later scenes become quite redundant and viewers will be entirely unsurprised at the late big reveal. On top of this a couple of the plot threads involving a real estate agent's supposed behaviour in facilitating a sale and a father's (almost) non-behaviour following a serious accident, will have many punters scratching their heads at the contrived outcomes.

So while this film has no lack of atmosphere and is a visual feast, far more judicious and deliberate editing would have likely resulted in a better, more streamlined final product.