Baignade en mer

La Mer (1895)

The American title of this Lumiere Brothers short translates to The Sea and that's basically what we watch for thirty-seconds. We see a small number of people splashing around in the water and jumping into it from a dock. There's obviously nothing ground-breaking about this actuality film but at the same time I always enjoy watching these simply because it captures a moment in time and I just think it's rather cool that someone is watching this footage 120+ years after it was shot. Certainly those playing in the water while it was filmed never could have imagined that the movie would still be viewed so many years later.

Baignade en mer (1897)

Here's another entertaining film from the Lumiere Brothers. This one here has the camera placed on the shore of a beach where a bunch of children and adults are playing in the water. We see them splashing around and then getting out, running back on the dock and jumping into the water. This film really benefits from some great images and especially of the beach. Just take a look at the darkness of the picture. Obviously I'm going to guess that they weren't overly concerned with lighting at this point in cinema but the look is really beautiful here. At less than a minute the film really captures a moment in time that is quite priceless.

Back in the days of early cinema many filmmakers would film a choppy sea in order to show audiences how effective a motion picture could be. Audiences, according to some, would freak out at seeing the waves splashing toward them, thinking they'd be soaked. This Lumiere film is one of those, except it has more to it. Besides the sea itself, there is also a pier with several people jumping off into the water. (Nearly all are boys with striped bathing suits, but one appears to be an older female woman). The scene is well photographed, and the Lumieres sure knew were to place the camera to get a good view. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see an early use of the film camera.

I wonder if the 42 folks who voted on this one include any of the 30 people who cast votes on "Baignade en mer"? Here is a summary of "Baignade": "The sea is before us. Some rocks are visible to the right and a narrow jetty extends about ten meters or so about three feet above the sea, held up by two sets of pylons. A woman and several lads about ten years old are coming out onto the rocks, one climbs onto the jetty at the end. He jumps back into the sea as the lads and lady run out to the end of the jetty and jump off. Even though the sea looks to be only about a foot deep, one boy does a flip into the water and repeats it later. The others simply jump in." If this also describes "La Mer" (1895) then we either have a duplicate entry or we have the first sequel in the history of the movies... or maybe it's the first remake, ahead of "Kiss in the Tunnel" by a full four years.

It's pleasant and rather nostalgic to watch this simple, but lively, footage of a group of swimmers as they dive and splash in the sea. It almost feels as if you are at the seashore, and it also can bring to mind one's own memories of swimming as a youth.

The photography is nicely done in catching the length of the pier and most of the action of the swimmers, and also in catching the rolling motion of the waves as they come towards the camera. Whether by design or by a fortunate coincidence, it makes the movie work even better that it was filmed on a day with such noticeable motion in the sea itself.

The swimmers themselves seem to be having a good time, and it creates an innocent sense of energy and life that accounts for the movie's simple but pleasing nature.