NFR Project: “In the Street”
Pho: Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb, James Agee
Ed: Helen Levitt
Premiere: 1948/1952
14/18 min.
Slice of life.
That’s the best way to describe this short film. Taken in Spanish Harlem on the island of Manhattan, it’s the work of three filmmakers who wanted to preserve the look and feel of everyday life in the New York City of their day.
The trio hit the streets, focusing on children at play, passersby, older women maintaining storefronts. The movie is black-and-white and silent; there is no narration to contextualize what we are seeing, no explanation, just plain witnessing.
This agenda-less exercise is of interest to the quiet observer, the unassuming audience member.
The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: Letter from an Unknown Woman.
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