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La Commune (Paris, 1871)

La Commune (Paris 1871)

2000

Peter Watkins

Documentary

8.1

533

Documentary. War. Drama We are in the year 1871. A journalist for Versailles Television broadcasts a soothing and official view of events while a Commune television is set up to provide the perspectives of the Paris rebels. On a stage-like set, more than 200 actors interpret characters of the Commune, especially the Popincourt neighbourhood in the XIth arrondissement. They voice their own thoughts and feelings concerning the social and political reforms. The ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Dave Kehr The New York Times	"It is a pleasure to see a film that fails by attempting too much (...) Essential viewing for anyone interested in taking an exploratory step outside the Hollywood norms."	POS
United States	Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader	"[It] is basically done as TV reportage. That sounds like an odd way to treat events in the 18th and 19th centuries, but it actually works (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Eddie Cockrell Variety	"[It] is big, passionate and brimming with compelling human details and broad sociopolitical idealism (...) An involving, important work"	POS
United States	J. Hoberman Village Voice	"Watkins’ six-hour masterpiece is contagiously exciting"	POS
United Kingdom	Time Out	"A film that rigorously interrogates media authority, political power and personal responsibility (...) It builds a remarkable sense of popular participation"	POS
United States	Eric Henderson Slant	"A marginalized, disjointed, whirling dervish of utopian ideas and devil-may-care indulgence (...) A brilliantly simple conceit that creates an instantaneous beehive of colliding concepts (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 5)"	NEU
United States	Ethan Alter TV Guide	"Fascinating, if sometimes slow-moving (...) [It] brings the past to vivid life (...) The cast does an excellent job of inhabiting their roles (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	V.A. Musetto New York Post	"Daring and unique"	POS

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