Repas de bébé (1895)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Louis Lumière

Genre:

Documentary | Short

Plot:

Like all the early Lumiere Brothers shorts, this consists of just one shot, of Auguste Lumiere, his wife and baby daughter having breakfast...

Cast

Andrée Lumière	...	Himself, 'bébé'
Auguste Lumière	...	Himself, Auguste Lumière
Mrs. Auguste Lumiere	...	Herself, Marguerite Lumière

Also Known As:

Baby's Dinner (USA)
Baby's Lunch (USA) (original script title)
Baby's Meal (International: English title) (informal literal title)
Feeding the Baby (USA)
Le goûter de bébé (France)

Runtime:

1 min

Country:

France

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Lumière

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood" (1995)

Quite tender but yet nothing happens either

I watched this film on a DVD that was rammed with short films from the period. I didn't watch all of them as the main problem with these type of things that their value is more in their historical novelty value rather than entertainment. So to watch them you do need to be put in the correct context so that you can keep this in mind and not watch it with modern eyes. With the Primitives & Pioneers DVD collection though you get nothing to help you out, literally the films are played one after the other (the main menu option is "play all") for several hours. With this it is hard to understand their relevance and as an educational tool it falls down as it leaves the viewer to fend for themselves, which I'm sure is fine for some viewers but certainly not the majority. What it means is that the DVD saves you searching the web for the films individually by putting them all in one place – but that's about it.

Anyway onto this film which is barely even a minute long and focuses on two parents feeding their baby. It is an affectionate and tender shot that is free of anything of particular interest but is still quite engaging. Clearly made as part of the developmental process of getting to grips with the technology, the film doesn't aim for much but in regards its place in history it is maybe worth a look at. Lumière is considered the originator of cinema, so on that basis alone it is worth a glance. Don't expect to be able to understand the impact of the film though – to those of us now used to seeing different universes on our screens when we go to the cinema, it is difficult to forget that you'll looking at two people feeding a baby!