It depicts his expedition in French Equatorial Africa. Allégret's primary interest in the project was ethnographic, and he was genuinely attempting to promote understanding of the cultures he depicted.

The mighty Congo River The DRC is truly vast. [1] His debut film itself is considered a pioneering ethnographic film, and its methodology was influential in this genre. This frenchified director would soon embark on a successful career in the talkies.Herr Gide's book criticized openly French colonialism and financial interests of that European country in their African colonies but Herr Allégret's documentary is more focused on anthropological and ethnological aspects.In those early silent years, to watch "Voyage Au Congo" was a kind of enlightening exercise, an excellent chance for curious audiences to discover different cultures, customs and behaviours. Around India with a Movie CameraSandhya Suri skillfully weaves together archival footage—including hand colored sequences and a new score—to create a story about life across India from 1899 to 1947. Their months-long expedition included travels through the Ubangi-Shari, Lake Chad, and the French Cameroons. Berlin 1885: The Division of AfricaThe story of the first international conference on Africa, which established its division amongst the European powers, and created Congo as a personal possession of the Belgian king. [1] The film debuted on 8 July 1927, opening at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier. Enjoy picnics and drinks en route. View production, box office, & company info, Starmaker Allégret: From Gay Romance with 'Uncle' (and Nobel Winner) Gide to Simon's Movie Mentor. —Dr. Overnight in Brazzaville hotel midrange. Porters carried the film’s negatives for months, through extreme heat and humidity. [2] It was Allégret's first directorial effort. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site?
Instead they saw various African tribes and how they lived their daily lives (farming, harvesting) and their own individual customs (their special soirees and dances, marriage rituals, etc).As this German count said "Voyage Au Congo" is an interesting example of the documentary genre thanks to its didactic aspect but it must be noted that inherently in this film genre exists what this German count calls the "documentary imposture" or reality manipulation, harmless in this oeuvre that covers daily situations and uses those images only for artistic interests ( the engagement process, some tribal dances and customs ) and for the sake of illustrative film aspects but more terrible in other cases when the director changes or subverts the reality to serve his own interest.And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must dance Teutonic and aristocratic dances.Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/. [1] Allégret was tasked with recording their experiences in film and photographs. “An exceptional work of early ethnography [and] a stark reminder of ethnographic representations’ role in producing and reproducing Europe’s colonial discourse on and about Africa. Gide preferred the older name, and commemorated his own experiences in a book also called Travels in the Congo.

Travels in the Congo (French: Voyage au Congo) is a French documentary film, directed by Marc Allégret. They used it for a while as the base for their excursions. They stayed in French Equatorial Africa for ten months. Rachel Gabara, University of Georgia, in the journal African Studies Review“The film that emerged from their voyage stands as a singular account, through its images and their subtext, of the complex and uneasy power dynamics inherent in erotic exchange, between men and women, the young and the old, the photographer and the subject, the colonizer and the colonized." [3][4], The documentaries of the 1920s, such as Nanook of the North (1922) and La Croisière noire (1926), relied on "adventure" elements and exoticism to attract an audience. He found their next stop, Conakry, more pleasant. They sailed from Africa on 14 May 1926. This DVD is sold with a license for institutional use and Public Performance rights. [1], In an attempt to minimize the "contaminating effect" of his presence, Allégret took to using a long-range telephoto lens for filming. In 1925, Allégret graduated from the Sciences Po and then embarked on an African expedition with Gide. [1], During World War I, the young Marc Allégret became the lover and companion of the novelist André Gide. [1], The documentary was not commercially successful, and failed to leave a mark in French popular culture. 3 of 7 people found this review helpful. A fictional melodrama, concerning a young couple striving to win the approval of their respective families, introduces the audience to accurate sociological information of the courting culture of the Sara. [1][2] In the context of the 1920s, this would contrast Africa with the perceived decadence of Europe.

—Thomas Beard and Ed Halter, Light Industry, 117 minutes / B&W Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows to round out your Watchlist. He deliberately excluded references to his manner of travel and the difficulties of the journey, to avoid focusing on "adventure". The duo sailed from Bordeaux on 18 July 1925. Title: Looking for some great streaming picks? Voyage au Congo Congo is the name of two countries in Central Africa: Republic of the Congo – also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the smaller one in the northwest; Democratic Republic of the Congo - formerly Zaire and also known as Congo-Kinshasa, the larger one in the southeast; This article is a disambiguation page. Unusual for its time Travels in the Congo (Voyage au Congo) is a largely observational documentary (with one dramatized sequence) showing aspects of the lives, culture, and built environments of diverse groups in the region, amongst them the Baya, Sara and Fula peoples, and without trying to shoehorn them into a dramatic narrative.
Voyage < Previous > Next. From the years 1926 to 1927, Herr Marc Allégret accompanied Herr André Gide on his trip to French Equatorial Africa; in connection with this trip, Herr Gide wrote a journal called "Voyage Au Congo".