"Télévision, oeil de demain" is both non fiction in its first part and and fiction in its second half. As a documentary it is not the most breathtaking work ever filmed nor is its direction and acting particularly memorable in the second part. And yet, this short film is a milestone in a particular field: futurology.
The documentary part is not uninteresting, far from it. The director-writer-producer J.K. Raymond-Millet invites us to visit the studios of French TV as they were back in 1947. Starting from the TV recording of a flamenco show, he makes us discover - both in an amusing and educational way - the various techniques, instruments, facilities and technicians involved in the making of a TV show. He even takes the viewer out of the studios following a cable along the streets then up to the top of the Eiffel Tower from where the waves are sent to the viewers'sets.
At this stage the film unexpectedly changes from good quality documentary to work of genius. By switching from the present to the future it proves amazingly relevant, insightful and even - there are not two ways about it - downright prophetic. Indeed, through a series of entertaining sketches, Raymond-Millet (taking inspiration from ideas writer René Barjavel had expressed in his 1944 book "Cinéma Total") imagines how technique will evolve and transform peoples' lives. In his film, people phone in the streets,look for a travel destination on a screen or get arrested by cops in a city blanketed with TV cameras. Just like today! Really amazing... This is 1947 and Raymond-Millet's images foreshadow the cell phone, 3-D TV, the Internet, TV monitoring, the videophone, virtual images. Even better, he goes as far as to predict people's attitudes to such amenities : they will become blasé (like the man yawning before his set broadcasting images from another planet) and demanding (like the man in the travel agency who complains that he can't even smell the dishes served in a Caracas hotel).
Of course, the commentary is a bit outdated and the constantly sexist remarks are a thing of the past. But nobody is perfect and can tell the future ... in all its departments!
This remarkable short is available on the 2007 Chalet Pointu DVD (La petite Collection de Bref #7)
