Farrebique, or the Four Seasons
Farrebique, the first feature-length effort of French documentary filmmaker Georges Rouqier, is widely regarded as his finest film. Rouqier concentrates on a single French farm family, following them through the four seasons. As in the works of Robert Flaherty, the human characters and the land surrounding them are "one", and Rouqier never misses an opportunity to parallel their lives with the eons-old phases of nature. The final symbolic images of Spring, achieved through time-lapse photography, are almost unbearably beautiful. The winner of several festival awards, Farrebique nonetheless did not immediately result in an outpouring of financing for Rouqier's follow-up films (this was a common problem in the financially strapped French film industry of the 1940s). Perhaps as a result, Rouqier did not make his sequel, Biquefarre (filmed in the same region, with some of the same "actors"), until 1983.
CinemaSerf@Geronimo1967
If Vivaldi had been around to make a feature film, then he could easily have crafted this artful piece of cinéma vérité that follows three generation of a family who have farmed the land for generations. The second world war has just ended and life is tough for these labouring farmers who have little by way of technology to assist with their relentless toils. Despite their traditional existence, they are a forward looking family making sure that school features for the youngsters and they worship faithfully as their priest and his congregation pray for the continued blessings of God on their enterprising. Of course, as the seasons change their work becomes more and less onerous and that also gives director Georges Rouquier an opportunity to let his photographic imagination run wild a little, with time-lapse photography capturing some of the essence of the natural environment as the days shorten, darken and winter sets in then the reverse occurs as the spring brings buds and flowers start to emerge indicating the cycle is about to start all over again. It's not just nature that proves cyclical here, the family sees changes that cause them distress and joy - with death, birth and aspiration which tests the commitment of those left to persevere with a working life that isn't for everyone. It's a very natural film to watch with the cast presenting an honest and raw appraisal of family life that's tough yet rewarding, loving and occasionally quite fun!