Taris, roi de l'eau

Jean Vigo knows he can't be too bland with a subject like swimming, no matter how good the swimmer might be in his style and speed and graceful varieties of stroke (so to speak). Jean Taris is actually an excellent swimmer, as Vigo makes abundantly clear within the first minute: in a simple over-head shot, with the occasional close-up cut-away, we see Taris defeat his opponents in a swimming race lickety split. But it's how Vigo then treats the whole nature of how to instruct the audience on a topic that makes it worthwhile to find (it's available on you-tube, by the way). We hear the Taris voice-over describe the different movements that can be used- including the "new" one, called the breast-stroke- and that, simply, swimming cannot be taught indoors. Vigo puts his words into an assemblage of images that reminded me of the great scene in L'Atalante with the character Jean underwater, only here taken steps further, and visually it's always a wild little treat.

Like his Apropos de Nice movie, Vigo is out to explore possibilities with the frame and the camera and certain techniques that today might come off a tiny bit goofy, but nevertheless display a true resiliency on part of the filmmaker and his technical crew (notably Boris Kaufman). It's all experimentation, but it ends up working better in its favor due to the step-by-step narration and detail. A constant image is that of the swimmer going backwards out of the water into original diving pose, which doesn't lose its appeal as eye-catching. There are also the many tight close-ups from a multitude of angles as the swimmer goes about his instruction: his arms, his feet kicking, his face trying best not to somehow get too much water in the mouth while breathing. And perhaps the most interesting bit when we see the swimmer underwater, likely seen through an aquarium or some other safe place for the camera, and the Taris goes through many different movements. What begins as a relatively easy-going tutorial short on film, by way of the inventiveness of the filmmaker, becomes something much better- a subjective lesson in the art of swimming.

There's even a touch of the absurd to much of it, as is the way of the director in his works, like when he does show a man trying to swim indoors, on a chair. And the final images, by the way, are definitely the best, as one last time the swimmer comes up onto the side of the pool backwards, then is seen in a business suit, jacket and hat, and in a great super-imposition walks ahead into the water. Whatever it might mean, I can't say, but throughout as Vigo's eye follows this man on his lesson to those who wonder 'can I be like him', there are moments of wonderful exercises in limitless cinematic expression too. 8.5/10

Essentially a 'how-to-swim' piece that, in the hands of someone less talented and individualistic than Jean Vigo, would have been forgotten years ago, Taris is transformed by the director's unique and original imagination into something much more. He captures some terrific underwater shots of Taris swimming and horsing around, and manages to add a few trademark surreal touches and camera trickery to ensure that the viewer's interest never wanes. It is still essentially a film about swimming, but it manages to capture both Taris's mastery of his sport and his enthusiasm for it. Worth a watch if you have a spare ten minutes.

I recently viewed a rather good student film that explored "liquid memories," by setting the imagination in the mild ocean. It reminded me that it was time to re-view the films that first got the sleeve of my imagination caught in the machinery of cinema, those films that explore architectural water.

Of them, I believe this to be the first. (If I am wrong, please let me know.)

This is ostensibly a film about a man in his water kingdom. He gives a "tour," as if the kingdom were defined by how you move and breath, and there is a rather clumsy bit at the end where he walks into the waterworld in his "ordinary" suit.

But where it shines is in how it depicts that world, glimmering, swirling. Sometimes, even though you know what you are looking at, you cannot get your own bearings. You cannot see exactly where you are. this business of immersion and world-definition is important -- I think -- to how we understand all worlds in film.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

Jean Vigo films the talents of great swimming champion Jean Taris performing different acts. Vigo film technique allied with Taris swimming style are intertwined with grace and effect.

Some of this might have been a bit risqué, at least it would have been to Americans, but it is an interesting use of underwater photography and captures its subject well. I don't know Jean Taris, but then again, I wasn't around in 1930s France. I imagine he was a big deal and something a hero. Certainly, in this capacity, his body and movements are an art form.

Of the few things Vigo did, this might be the one that stands out. It doesn't offer class commentary or suggest anarchism. It's not the masterpiece of his short career. It is just a simple -- but effective -- look at a great athlete.

Jean Vigo is a great example of a young filmmaker who died very young and is adored today by cinema freaks. While the body of his work is minuscule (only four films), in some circles he's considered a genius--even though only one of his films ("L'Atalante") was full-length. And, two of his other three shorts are more experimental films than anything else. I frankly don't quite get his reputation, but for fans of this writer/director, Criterion has released a DVD with all four of his films.

"Taris" is an odd little film about the French swimming champion, Jean Taris. In some ways this is an art film--with very unusual camera angles and composition. And, in other ways, it's a rather dull 'how to' film--one that shows the viewers how to swim like Taris--as he demonstrates various strokes, breathing, turns and the like. It's not at all a film the average person would enjoy or even look for in the first place. However, as I said above, film buffs who adore Vigo would be happy to see this--even if it is not the most exciting film I've ever seen (far from it, actually). Competently made, rather dull but full of exciting camera work.