Rain

Thematic Documentary as Witness: Great Films of the Twentieth Century Curated by Mary Lea Bandy

A lyrical impression of a rain storm in Amsterdam, this “city poem” observes, as the Dutch filmmaker Joris Ivens put it, the changing face of the city during rain. Filmed at moment’s notice over four months and edited into a single passing shower, the film conceals Ivens’s meticulous care, relying on a bare minimum of light. This is Ivens’s masterpiece of the 1920’s, before he turned to social and political documentary. He likened its mood to a verse of the poet Paul Verlaine: “It weeps in my heart as it rains on the town.”

Director

Joris Ivens

Original Title

Regen

Release Year

1929

Festival Year

1999

Country

Netherlands

Run Time

15 minutes