Jean Rouch Tribute

Loizo: Jean Rouch Tribute

Jean Rouch was an influential filmmaker for many reasons. He is most influentially know for, “his dedication to the promotion of film as a medium for ethnology; his stylistic inventiveness; his radical view of documentary, and his personal politics” (Lorizos, 45). He saw his camera as more than a ‘passive recording instrument’ and an important role in his investigations and research. The term Roach uses himself to describe his research style is the term, “provacation.”

To other’s Rouch is described as a ‘radical empiricist’ who finds importance in fieldwork and time. Rouch found importance in establishing long-term relationships and while filming the Dogon and Songhap People, Rouch visited them every year for 50 years. His groundbreaking filming decisions and techniques made those who viewed his films question what they were seeing and provoked much response and emotion. Those who were filmed went back and forth between acknowledging the camera and ignoring it, questioning whether or not Rouch had hired actors or was filming real people. This filmmaking process was called ‘informant-feedback method’ and involved collaboration between Rouch and those being filmed.

‘Chronique d’un ete’ was one of Rouch’s best-known works and greatly influenced documentary filmmakers. The film touched on real life and real experiences and appears to be brilliantly unrehearsed. There are three aspects to this film that made it innovative and unique. First the sound equipment became mobile and flexible so that people were able to be filmed in their natural habitats and did not have to haul themselves down to a recording studio. Secondly, the technique of ‘jump-cutting’ became possible and in Rouch’s words, “we realized we could cut in the middle of a shot and even shorten phrases” (Lorizos, 59). Thirdly, “there was a clear acceptance of the Film-makers as agents, as producers of the reality being filmed” (Lorizos, 59).

In a conversation between Rouch and Marceline this change and monetous period in filmmaking is illustrated. In the interview, Rouch asks Marceline why he is hesitant and nervous and Marceline responds by saying, “I’m intimidated because at a given moment you have to be ready…” Rouch responds by saying, “If you say something you don’t like, it can always be cut out.” This was an unbelievable change from the way films were edited before and hard for some to believe.

Rouch was a pioneer and inspirations for many filmmakers that followed him. Lorizos sums up his work in four ideas; “Collaboration with the subjects, Bringing their voices into the films, allowing their dreams and fantasies to take shape and adding a mode of documentary which was not documentation- realism” (Lorizos, 64). He was highly respected, looked up to and continues to be a great inspiration and teacher for ethnographic filmmakers today.