La Maison De La Radio

With the slow steady rise of the sun, to the coming of the night. We experience Radio France. We meet its characters, its hosts, its vocabulary. From the news team, selecting the information both sublime and the ridiculous. The chat show hosts that have to find the answers. The guests, from arts and culture. Then we have the behind scenes recordings of music and a radio play. A day in the life and one that captures a vast whole.

Direct cinema is back with a soft thumb. This is to say that we have seen some superb, life portraits of places recently. Taken by the masters and the minors. From Fredrick Wiseman to Johannes Holzhausen, we have had the grace of an art form coming back to attention but not always getting to sit at its rightful place. Look at THE GREAT MUSEUM for instance, that was a bold, ambitious and thoughtful masterpiece. It deserved to have a wider spread in its film viewership but failed too. This film is no where near as good as that film but it deserves some time and some words of praise. In a nutshell, you should also watch this!

So what the film does well is in its very core. It is observational, without being intrusive. It wants to explore the radio stations world but not by challenging. More it wants to viewer to feel a part of the ceremony of the life of the people within the halls. It has gauged this very well and it often feels like the people have so much fun and vim that their lives are over flowing with joy. Spontaneous musical pieces appear and their stories are lively and fun. Music is a celebration in this film, so when it suddenly surfaces you are caught it. It did also jar a little after a while but you can live with this. Staff are eager and passionate as well about what they do. All this is expressed in their warmth and knowledge. Also well captured by a very soft and personal interviewing style.

This is the issue with the piece in the end. The film looks great, sounds great and has some wonderful people. Its just that does this story really need to be shared? It feels sometimes as if the audience might just go, do i really need to turn up? Do I need to care? You might want to once but after that? I am not sure. I liked it but it wasn't something I would order again.