Georges Franju began his career with one-reelers ,and although his feature films were sometimes great (particularly the first ones: "la tête contre les murs" "Thérèse Desqueyroux" and his most celebrated one "les yeux sans visage" -"eyes without a face - ) many critics consider his shorts the best part of his filmography.
"En passant par la lorraine " sandwiched between two absolute masterpieces , "le sang des bêtes " ( depiction of a slaughterhouse) and "hôtel des invalides " (depiction of another slaughterhouse , it's the human blood which has flowed ), "En passant par la Lorraine" ,in spite of an admirable cinematography in black white ,suffers by comparison , it looks like a commisioned film .
A documentary of early fifties Lorraine , it begins with an old military march which gave the short its title ,sung by a choir of children.The historical side is quickly passed over:a flying visit to Joan of Arc's village-at the time the region was a duchy- ,a hint at louis the Fifteenth who ,by his marriage to a Polish princess ,made Lorraine a French province.
Too little time is given over to the plain of Verdun ,one of the most important battlefields of WW1 ,and one can only catch a glimpse of its memorial ....what Franju did not do with Verdun, he would do it in his next short.
The documentary essentially deals with human geography circa 1950; Lorraine had two assets : coal mines and iron ore ; the iron and steel metallurgy was then thriving ; Dantesque pictures of the furnaces , with its busts of flames and its casting of white-hot metal ; the workers are compared to roping cowboys ,but an awkward movement may mean mutilation.The depiction of the plants which stand out against the gray sky ends with the sheet metal which makes the car ;a car which resumes the trip across the country ,with a touch of humor - the breeding-and the Lorraine patriotism ,represented by a torchlight pocession - commemorating the Bastille Day ,but today replaced by fireworks and bals .
"En passant par la lorraine " sandwiched between two absolute masterpieces , "le sang des bêtes " ( depiction of a slaughterhouse) and "hôtel des invalides " (depiction of another slaughterhouse , it's the human blood which has flowed ), "En passant par la Lorraine" ,in spite of an admirable cinematography in black white ,suffers by comparison , it looks like a commisioned film .
A documentary of early fifties Lorraine , it begins with an old military march which gave the short its title ,sung by a choir of children.The historical side is quickly passed over:a flying visit to Joan of Arc's village-at the time the region was a duchy- ,a hint at louis the Fifteenth who ,by his marriage to a Polish princess ,made Lorraine a French province.
Too little time is given over to the plain of Verdun ,one of the most important battlefields of WW1 ,and one can only catch a glimpse of its memorial ....what Franju did not do with Verdun, he would do it in his next short.
The documentary essentially deals with human geography circa 1950; Lorraine had two assets : coal mines and iron ore ; the iron and steel metallurgy was then thriving ; Dantesque pictures of the furnaces , with its busts of flames and its casting of white-hot metal ; the workers are compared to roping cowboys ,but an awkward movement may mean mutilation.The depiction of the plants which stand out against the gray sky ends with the sheet metal which makes the car ;a car which resumes the trip across the country ,with a touch of humor - the breeding-and the Lorraine patriotism ,represented by a torchlight pocession - commemorating the Bastille Day ,but today replaced by fireworks and bals .
