Le Tempestaire
Encyclopedia
Le Tempestaire is a 1947 French short drama film written and directed by Jean Epstein
. The title translates as "The storm tamer". The story revolves around a woman who is worried for her fiancé, who is out at sea during a storm. The film makes use of temporal techniques such as time-lapse
and slow motion both in images and sound.
, a young woman and her grandmother sit by a spinning wheel. The wind suddenly makes the front door open by itself and the woman says it is a bad omen. The woman is visited by her fiancé, who against her advice goes out to fish for sardines. The wind starts to harden and soon there is a full storm. The grandmother tells the woman that in old times, people believed in "storm masters", old men who could control the wind, but that such things only are superstition.
As the woman grows increasingly worried, she goes to the lighthouse, and asks the keepers about an old man who might be a storm master. She visits the man who at first is reluctant but eventually brings out a crystal ball
. Inside the ball, the stormy sea appears. When the man gently blows at the ball, the waves change speed, move in slow motion, and at one point play backwards. The man drops the ball to the floor and it breaks. The fiancé turns up and brings the woman home. The wind has calmed down.
's film theory had from the beginning been cinema's possibility to provide perceptions of time alternative to what can be experienced in daily life. Around the time of the production of Le Tempestaire, Epstein had begun to publish theories about sound in film. He was influenced by the musique concrète
movement, and stressed that music and "the phonograph
" were two separate artforms, the latter with the possibility to provide new dimensions to familiar, non-abstract sounds. Le Tempestaire was produced by France Illustration. It was shot at Belle Île
and starred local fishermen and lighthouse keepers.
from Kino International.
Jean Epstein
Jean Epstein was a French filmmaker, film theorist, literary critic, and novelist. Although he is remembered today primarily for his adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, Epstein directed three dozen films and was an influential critic of literature and film from the...
. The title translates as "The storm tamer". The story revolves around a woman who is worried for her fiancé, who is out at sea during a storm. The film makes use of temporal techniques such as time-lapse
Time-lapse
Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing...
and slow motion both in images and sound.
Plot
In a fishing village on the coast of BrittanyBrittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, a young woman and her grandmother sit by a spinning wheel. The wind suddenly makes the front door open by itself and the woman says it is a bad omen. The woman is visited by her fiancé, who against her advice goes out to fish for sardines. The wind starts to harden and soon there is a full storm. The grandmother tells the woman that in old times, people believed in "storm masters", old men who could control the wind, but that such things only are superstition.
As the woman grows increasingly worried, she goes to the lighthouse, and asks the keepers about an old man who might be a storm master. She visits the man who at first is reluctant but eventually brings out a crystal ball
Crystal ball
A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball believed by some people to aid in the performance of clairvoyance. It is sometimes known as a shew stone...
. Inside the ball, the stormy sea appears. When the man gently blows at the ball, the waves change speed, move in slow motion, and at one point play backwards. The man drops the ball to the floor and it breaks. The fiancé turns up and brings the woman home. The wind has calmed down.
Production
A recurring motif in Jean EpsteinJean Epstein
Jean Epstein was a French filmmaker, film theorist, literary critic, and novelist. Although he is remembered today primarily for his adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, Epstein directed three dozen films and was an influential critic of literature and film from the...
's film theory had from the beginning been cinema's possibility to provide perceptions of time alternative to what can be experienced in daily life. Around the time of the production of Le Tempestaire, Epstein had begun to publish theories about sound in film. He was influenced by the musique concrète
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
movement, and stressed that music and "the phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
" were two separate artforms, the latter with the possibility to provide new dimensions to familiar, non-abstract sounds. Le Tempestaire was produced by France Illustration. It was shot at Belle Île
Belle Île
Belle-Île or Belle-Île-en-Mer is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the département of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is 14 km from the Quiberon peninsula.Administratively, the island forms a canton: the canton of Belle-Île...
and starred local fishermen and lighthouse keepers.
Release
The film premiered in 1947. It was included on the 2005 DVD Avant-Garde: Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and 1930sAvant-garde (dvd collection)
Avant-Garde is a DVD-series with experimental films released by Kino International.-Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and 1930s:Avant-Garde: Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and 1930s is a 2-disc, 6-hour DVD collection, released in August 2005 by Kino International which includes the following...
from Kino International.
See also
- 1947 in film1947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
- Cinema of FranceCinema of FranceThe Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
- EthnofictionEthnofictionEthnofiction is a neologism which refers to an ethnographic docufiction sub-genre, a blend of documentary and fiction film in the area of visual anthropology. It is a film style in which the portrayed characters play their own roles as members of an ethnic or social group.Jean Rouch is considered...
- French Impressionist CinemaFrench Impressionist CinemaFrench Impressionist Cinema, also referred to as the first avant-garde or narrative avant-garde, is a term applied to a group of French films and filmmakers of the 1920s....
- Weather controlWeather controlWeather control is the act of manipulating or altering certain aspects of the environment to produce desirable changes in weather. Weather control can have the goal of preventing damaging weather, such as hurricanes or tornadoes, from occurring; of causing beneficial weather, such as rainfall in...