Panic! on the Cafe: Lumiere Style

If I would delineate film, I would say it is a language; and if it is a language, I would say it must be the international lingo.

December 28, 1895 was the birth date of the first motion picture in Modern History. The famous Lumiere (Lumière, in French) Brothers exhibited a selection of their films to a paying crowd at a Parisian café this date. August (Auguste) and Louis Lumiere gave dawn to one of the popular forms of media as known today.

“Leaving the Factory” was the first film I’ve watched. Watching the film lightens my mood. I can see the lack of pretension. It also made me realized that workers of the previous times don’t wear frayed clothes at work. Aside from the said fact, I also noticed that time was valued highly. Workers leave the factory without chatting with their co-workers. They have their own “business.” Some are walking while some are running. Fashion during that time was accentuated.

The second video I’ve seen was originally entitled, L'Arrivée d'un Train à la Ciotat (Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat). In this film, the directors are successful in showing us how the early Parisians were. The discipline while waiting and going down the train was emphasized (according to my observation). A positive aspect was the use of background music. Imagine yourself watching moving pictures only. Boring, isn’t it?

While doing some research regarding this matter, I came across an issue saying that the first-night audience fled the café in terror of being run over by the so-called approaching train. It might be funny if they used the actual sound of the scene. (I can visualize people running in all directions while screaming in fear!) However, this only proved that their film was indeed effective to the viewers.

If these films are to be shown these days, I presumed only a few will have the initiative to stop for a while and appreciate the beauty of these films. Honestly, movies with mature content will be entertained more. Viewers nowadays tend to ignore the story line or the lessons you can learn in a motion picture. Special effects, actors and actresses, and promotions affect the sales of the movie.

I believe in time, people will start to look for older films once more. It's not because they are forced or anything. I believe it is because "films are made for the viewers. not for the critics." (A video of the first Lumiere Film's was attached at the beginning of this entry.)