Film: La Ville Louvre
Year of production: 1990
UK Release date: 1990
Distributor: Artificial Eye
Certificate: E
Running time: 84 mins
Director: Nicolas Philibert
Genre: Documentary
Format: DVD
Country of Production: France
Language: French
Review by: Sarah Hill
The Louvre is arguably one of the world’s most well-known museums. It has dominated Paris since the late 12th century, expanding alongside the city itself. The Louvre has seen many structural additions and renovations over the years, particularly the introduction of the glass pyramid, built by I.M. Pei, which was officially opened on March 30th 1989. The pyramid is the focal point of the museum’s main axes of circulation and serves as an entrance to large reception hall beneath. It’s the vast amount of work that went into to renovating the Louvre and its exhibits which is the subject of this documentary by award-winning filmmaker Nicolas Philibert (Etre Et Avoir).
La Ville Louvre delves into the Louvre’s many passages and reserves as thousands of workers – from construction workers to cleaners – strive to ensure that the museum and its exhibitions are ready for the grand re-opening following the addition of the glass pyramid in the 1980s…
Uncertainty pervades the opening scenes of Nicolas Philibert’s La Ville Louvre. Lit only by the dim light of a torch, a shadowy figure walks slowly up some steps and pulls out a large set of keys with which he unlocks a door. The audience is being taken on a journey into another world – a city within a city – home to numerous priceless objects of art - unlike anything seen before.
As the documentary begins to delve into this unknown universe, the most striking thing is just how vast it really is. Indeed, the viewer is informed that at the time of filming, the Louvre had 15 km of underground passages, employed 1,200 employees and housed 300,000 works of art. However, despite this obvious grandeur, the film focuses mainly on the many people within this world who work to ensure that all the expositions are mounted and to the highest possible standard before the Louvre is re-opened to the public. One of the things that the film does well is how it conveys the extent of the staff’s commitment. In one particular scene, a team of six is required to lift one painting which, when laid flat, fills half the large room. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that certain members of staff are shown working out in the Louvre’s very own gym in order to be able to lift such cumbersome works of art.
It seems that the staff will do almost anything if it’s in the best interests of the museum and its art. They deliberate over every detail – even down to whether they wear the Yves Sant Laurent suits or something from another designer, because, as the manager tells them, at the Louvre, “You can do what you like, as long as you do things properly.” The dedication is palpable as the director repeatedly cuts back to a female member of staff sitting alone in a room, delicately restoring a painting with painstaking precision, with the light from the window behind her creating an almost celestial glow. This sense of divinity is reinforced by the fact that the works of art are treated with a large degree of reverence and they are nearly always the sole focus of the frame.
Despite the initial serious tone, the film also exhibits some very subtle comedic moments, as the film moves away from the majestic paintings to the more mundane aspects of working life at the Louvre, such as when they have to undergo fire safety and first aid training. Their blank stares as they are forced to stand around and be lectured until they are required to grapple with a fire extinguisher is something that almost any worker in the audience can relate to, and so it is difficult not to chuckle in recognition.
However, throughout the film, there is an overwhelming, inescapable feeling that something is missing: a voiceover. Whilst the decision to not include a voiceover is partly understandable, as the subject of the film is highly visual - this is reflected within the form of the film itself and the fact that it chooses to limit the use of audio codes - it makes the viewing experience just that bit more difficult. Without a voiceover, the film lacks context. The audience does not really learn anything about the subject of the film and it is difficult to feel any connection with the staff, particularly as they say very little - it feels as if we are merely observing them rather than becoming part of their unusual environment.
The objects themselves also lack context, as they are not viewed in their usual positions within an exhibition and it is possibly more difficult to appreciate them without having been given any further information. In addition, a voiceover would certainly help to give the film a better pace, as it can often be very repetitive: many scenes involve the workers quietly deliberating over where to position the same few paintings. Therefore, without a voiceover to move things along, the film feels as if it far exceeds its 84-minute running time.
La Ville Louvre has an interesting premise and, for a while at least, it is impossible not to be struck by the vastness and the sheer amount of work involved in running one of the world’s most famous museums. However, once the initial fascination has worn off, the film’s lack of pace and context means that even serious appreciators of art would struggle to remain enthralled by it. SH
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