Daguerréotypes

Reviewed by J. Lunden on August 23, 2011

The word daguerréotype comes from Louis Daguerre, the inventor of the first widely successful photographic process. In typical practice, filmmaker Agnès Varda refashioned the word as a clever designation for her friends and neighbors who operated the small shops on the Rue Daguerre in Paris. Varda’s film, shot in 1975, is a curious and often melancholy time capsule. Varda captured the shop owners, consumers, pedestrians, and students of the Rue Daguerre as they go about their daily choreographies. Through Varda’s curious camera we witness the rituals, gestures and exchanges (both familiar and awkward) within the confines of these small businesses—in America we’d call them “mom and pop” shops—that have all certainly diminished in the Western landscape.

Having only experienced remnants of such commercial relationships, I can’t say that I mourn their absence, but Varda’s film certainly offers a palpable nostalgia for a time when trades were generational currency and each shop had its own detailed history. (Today, it feels like history is measured when a new McDonalds looks suspiciously like an old Burger King.) Daguerréotypes is certainly a fascinating sociological document, but it is specifically crafted to support Varda’s perception. Having experienced so much of Varda’s history through her biographical works, it is impossible for me to separate the filmmaker’s persona from her subject matter. This is not a slight. What I most admire about Varda’s films is that they are unassailably hers. And Varda’s unique perspective invariably colors the reality of her subjects, turning them into reflective surfaces. Yet, Varda has no formal agenda with Daguerréotypes, other than to capture her way of seeing this corner of the world at this particular time. The film may seem like an elegy—and perhaps some precognition did exist—but at the time of its filming, these people and places had not yet passed.

Among the individuals observed in Daguerréotypes, two draw the most attention from Varda. The first is an old woman, most likely suffering from some form of dementia, who spends her days sitting in her husband’s boutique, gazing out of the store window with a look of resigned absence. The footage of this woman, whom Varda refers to as Mrs. Blue Thistle, is heartbreaking; it’s like watching a body operate without a soul. The second individual is a traveling magician, whose performance is edited into the film as a centerpiece and through line. Varda, perhaps to compare the mechanics of the extraordinary to the ordinary, ingeniously juxtaposes the magician’s conventional illusions with images of bread makers, tailors and perfumers. What’s more impressive, the amount of notes in a perfume or the number of swords allegedly skewered into a beautiful assistant?

As in many of her documentaries, Varda peppers Daguerréotypes with segments of narration, her voice draped over the images like a poetic companion essay. Varda’s affection for these people is apparent, but through her images and words, a sense of distance becomes evident, as if she were observing foreign rituals on an alien world. But I suppose part of the human condition is that we are all prisoners in our own movies and therefore incurably alien to one another. At 82, Varda may still feel a distance between herself and the inhabitants of her home, but after more than 50 years living and working on the Rue Daguerre, she makes it very clear that she is undoubtedly one of them.

Daguerréotypes comes to DVD in its original standard aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The disc is dual-layered, progressive and has an average video bitrate of 6.49Mbps.

Cinema Guild’s transfer preserves Varda’s original 16mm elements nicely. Grain structures appear intact and detail, given the budget and filming conditions, is quite good. Colors seem accurate for the era and stock, and I noticed no egregious artifacting or digital tinkering. The 1.33:1-ish image is windowboxed.

Daguerréotypes is presented here with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 track at 448Kbps.

This two-channel mix is probably as good as it gets. The original recordings are rough and there’s a lot of ambient clatter. Varda’s voiceover segments are crisp and clear, though, and English subtitles are presented in glorious white.

Rue Daguerre in 2005 (23min):
This wonderful follow-up piece has Varda returning to the Rue Daguerre in 2005 to reflect upon her film and the evolution of the street.

Daguerréotype: Photographic Objects (6min):
Here we have a brief look at actual daguerréotypes.

Bread, Painting & Accordion (8min):
Varda chronicles the modern inhabits of the Rue Daguerre who are continuing its traditions.

Fete De La Musique Rue Daguerre 2005 (3min):
Footage from a 2005 musical festival on the Rue Daguerre.

Bonus Short Film: T’as De Beaux Escaliers, Tu Sais (3min):
This bonus short was originally available on Cinema Guild’s DVD for Cinevardaphoto. The short is located on the “Also from Agnes Varda” trailers page.

[Click images for full resolution captures]