Le Joli Mai Complements

The narrator of this clip introduces it as an observation into the outside world; people in their day-to-day lives shot from afar and hence, without their knowledge (perhaps?). Beginning with long shots of heavy foot traffic, the chaotic appeal in meshing mulitple momvements, despite its calm actuality, is implemented through the frantic music and the unsteady camera movement. In contrast to this, closeups of certain figures, particularly faces and hands holding various objects, possess a voyeuristic and almost stalkerish element. Though sometimes, this is not taken in a negative light. The audience is rather taken into their lives, submerged and somewhat invested into their unknown stories. Closeups of masses of people, on the other hand, make the audience feel lost in that there is no clear guide on who to follow, only to be drawn to those who are standing still or doing something significant in the social scene. Tracking shots of figures moving across the screen are mostly shot away from the camera and distant, creating the image of exclusivity and being drawn out. It is this idea of the being unaware, I believe that the filmmaker/s wished to implement. By not seeing the camera for most of the shots, in what is known as the “fly on the wall” documentary technique, the audience is invited to see “real” people, with no acting involved conscious or rather. An innocence to being filmed means that we are to witness these “real” people yawn, appear to be bored, and anything else that “real” people do on a daily basis.