Arquivo

If the Lumière brothers invented realism in cinema, Georges Méliès invented everything else: fantasy, delirium, and the endless possibilities of language. This year, during the sessions at Masp`s free span, and on the date celebrating the International Day of Audiovisual Heritage, the 43rd Mostra presents, within the Méliès Program, a selection of eight restored short films by the essential French filmmaker. Georges Méliès (1861-1938) was a magician and illusionist before experimenting with the novelty invented at the end of the 19th century. Converted into a filmmaker, Méliès was a pioneer in using special effects techniques, superimpositions, editing tricks, in addition to exploring the scenic possibilities of recording studios, sets, and costumes. The transposition of his old profession to cinema often resulted in characters who sought to break the common logic of everyday life and what was before our eyes. Inventors, scientists, explorers, and, like him, magicians star in films often inspired by the fantastic literature of Jules Verne and Jonathan Swift. Certainly his most famous film, "A Trip to the Moon" ("Le Voyage dans la Lune", 1902) shows six scientists who embark on an expedition to the Moon, here portrayed by a human face. The rocket is launched by an enormous cannon and hits the eye of the star, in an image that became classic. "The Impossible Voyage" ("Voyage a Travers L’Impossible", 1904), another of his most famous films, depicts an expedition of scientists who go to the Sun, while "The Man with the Rubber Head" ("L’Homme a la Tete en Caoutchouc", 1901) features a pharmacist who makes his own head grow by filling it with air with bellows. In "The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon" ("Eclipse de Soleil en Pleine Lune", 1907), an astronomy professor shows the astronomical phenomenon to his unruly students. The Moon passes in front of the Sun, in a comic love scene. Even when showing everyday facts, Méliès added fantastic elements to his story. From 1906, "The Hilarious Posters" ("Les Affiches en Goguette", 1906) has characters from advertising posters that come to life. In "The Living Playing Cards" ("Les Cartes Vivantes", 1905), an illusionist performing to a small audience brings a deck of cards to life. The Mostra also exhibits shorts in which Méliès dealt with figures that were already part of the public`s imagination at the time. "Joan of Arc" ("Jeanne d’Arc", 1900) portrays the historical French character, while "The Infernal Boiling Pot" ("Le Chaudron Infernal", 1903) features the demon Belphegor—one of the Seven Princes of Hell, who burns three victims in his cauldron. In addition, the program for the International Day of Audiovisual Heritage at Masp also includes two animation shorts from the beginnings of the technique`s use in Brazilian cinema: "Ugly Monkey... Beautiful Monkey" ("Macaco Feio... Macaco Bonito", 1929) and "Frivolity" ("Frivolitá", 1930). The film screenings will have musical accompaniment by Tony Berchmans, with cultural support from Fritz Dobbert.