The Cinema Verite Movement In The 70's

Documentaries are meant to test the boundaries of what we’re comfortable with. They’re supposed to bring new knowledge to an otherwise ignorant audience and inform them of it. This information is usually also something that challenges the viewers status quo. It could be revolutionary, horrific, countercultural or even just a little bit edgy. But documentaries are meant to show us the world around us in different shades of grey than we’re used to, and there no period of filmmaking that personified this more than the Cinema Verite movement in the 60’s and 70’s. But is there a line? Is there a point where we can all collectively say that enough is enough and that a certain film shouldn’t have been made? If there was ever a film that that could
Why the hell were the Maysles’ brothers filming these women? Why were they allowed such an intimate look at two mentally ill people’s lives with basically no restrictions? It’s hard to say exactly why but both of the Beale’s agreed to be filmed so technically the Maysles brothers had every legal right to go and take hundreds of hours worth of footage of the Edie’s. But did they have the ethical and moral obligation to not film these two women? That’s a little harder to answer. On one hand, documentary filmmaking, and “cinema verite”/”direct cinema” in particular, are supposed to give us unflinching looks at life. They’re not supposed to sugarcoat anything and they’re not meant to take our feelings into account. If something makes us uncomfortable that’s supposed to be a good thing. And no one can possibly deny that Grey Gardens definitely does all these things. One also can’t deny that Grey Gardens does have a good tale to tell. Showing the ugly side of high society and how they can fall from great heights and elite status into poverty just like you and I can is a very fascinating narrative. It’s something that if I had never seen Grey Gardens I never would’ve really thought about it in any sort of meaningful