Documentary backdrop image for Vita Nova (2009)

Documentary backdrop image for Vita Nova (2009)

200926 minPGdocumentary

Vita Nova

200926 minPGdocumentary

An old African cadet, once featured in a 1955 Paris Match cover, has forgotten almost all of the French national anthem decades later.

Genres

Director

Vincent Meessen

Synopsis

An old African cadet, once featured in a 1955 Paris Match cover, has forgotten almost all of the French national anthem decades later.

People

Vincent Meessendirector

Synopsis

Vincent Meesen searches for a young African cadet from a 1955 issue of Paris Match in his 2009 film Vita Nova. His quest leads him to an elderly man who struggles to recall the French national anthem. The film reveals connections between Roland Barthes and colonialism. Barthes failed to mention his grandfather, Captain Louis-Gustave Binger, who played a role in France's control over Côte d'Ivoire. Meesen’s work reflects on Barthes's legacy and its historical context.

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