Frères Lumière

(On TV, August 2022) Now here’s something interesting—Lumière! is a dive deep into cinema history to showcase many of the first films ever made by the Lumière Brothers. The appeal here isn’t solely in giving greater visibility, in restored editions, to some of the earliest movies ever made, but in the narration (by Thierry Frémaux, who also wrote and directed the film) pointing out the ways these early directors worked within the technical limits of their medium, creating a brand-new cinematographic grammar along the way. The script cleverly points out the inconsistencies and incoherence betraying how the film was staged and remade, never missing even the tiniest detail that can inform the viewer. The effect is very much like being in a very entertaining film school class, with an eager teacher using every frame of his material as a teaching opportunity. It’s an eloquent demonstration that while the Lumière Brothers didn’t have much in technical terms, they had to be immensely creative and clever in the ways they used what they had. There’s a constant line of wry humour in the narration running over the films, and Lumière! is far more interesting than you would expect. A must-see for anyone interested in the first decade of cinema.