Lumière, Le Cinéma!

Thierry Frémaux's 2024 documentary gathers short films made in the earliest years of cinema. Images recorded with the apparatus developed by the brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière are shown in restored form. Frémaux describes each film briefly, giving who shot it, where and under what conditions; the narrative shows how framing, movement and the idea of editing emerge inside these short pieces. The director had prepared a similar compilation before; this second selection gives weight to material shot in different countries. The commentary runs continuously and the information is dense. Who it's for: those curious about film history and early cinema. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a unified narrative; the film is made of more than fifty short pieces.