24 hours in 1913
An immersion into the daily life and lifestyle of the 1910s, just before the trauma of the Great War.
Amateur films, newsreels, photos, documents, and archival treasures, this film takes us into the extraordinary inventiveness of the "1910s."
Type (Documentaire / Documentaire fiction / Série documentaire)DocumentaryGenre en anglaisHistoryWritten byBenoit Gautier, Sylvain BergèreDirected by Sylvain BergèreEditingPhilippe BaillonSupported by CNCBroadcasted by ARTE FranceDistributed by Artline Films Year2014Duration52min
La Belle Époque was passionate about style. Fashion reinvented couture, cosmetics replaced ointments, and advertising made old-fashioned “reclame” obsolete. Cities like Paris opened up to strolling and commerce, with department stores becoming triumphant. Vacation spots, now accessible by train, steamship, or even automobile, invented modern tourism.
Industrial beauty products appeared, and new brands began to conquer international markets: L’Oréal, Guerlain, Nivea…
For all classes of society, appearance mattered. In the outskirts of Paris, the Apaches instilled fear. With striped pants, blood-red scarves, and generous sideburns, these gangs of thugs took care of their look while spreading terror.
High fashion, on the other hand, became international, communicated through advertising, and was represented in theater, literature, painting, and cinema… No one suspected the abyss to come.
Press coverage
An exceptional documentary in its approach (the modern soundtrack is particularly well conceived) and its amusing and informative archival images. Bravo!
Télé Câble Sat
This documentary, a feat of archival editing, captures the life of the French from sunrise to sunset in 1913. Fifty-two minutes of exceptional footage that transports us a century back, just before the storm.
Télérama
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