Nice time

An observation of couples and youths at night around London’s famous Piccadilly Circus. Influenced by the Free Cinema movement, Claude Goretta and Alain Tanner allow the camera to observe the scenes of people milling in front of cinemas, walking around the Circle and attempting to get into night clubs. There is no voice over, and instead, it is the observational mise-en-scene and the almost relaxed detachment of the observing camera that creates a leisurely but intriguing glimpse into everyday pleasure and life. The decision of the Swiss directors, Goretta and Tanner, to travel to the UK to involve themselves in Free Cinema was an indication of the immense influence the movement was having on documentary filmmaking, an influence that was to lead to the radical aesthetics of “cinema verite”.