peacenow17 Review of Le fantôme d'Henri Langlois

Le fantôme d'Henri Langlois (2004)

Brilliant and heartbreaking film about a true genius

[10/10 · 8 January 2008]

I'm actually too emotional to be writing this at this moment, having just seen the film. It is clear that without the extraordinary efforts of Henri Langlois, many of the great achievements in cinema would never have survived. Though he was a genius, he always had to deal with the Sisyphean struggle against pettiness and institutional lameness, but especially a lack of, ironically, VISION, to understand the importance of preserving films as a legacy for the future. It is a must-see for anyone who is passionate about film, but it is heartbreaking to experience the struggle. One cannot fathom how it is possible that although he had remarkable support from some of the most important film makers of SEVERAL generations, in the end, the struggle was too much to bear. It is a lesson/warning: When someone of such immense passion and drive subordinates everything for something greater than himself, we, in society, must pay attention. It's not as though he was a great painter who never sold a painting in his lifetime and died never knowing how he may have affected people through his work. Langlois did have champions, but that just wasn't enough because his task was so enormous. This film deserves a better comment. It is at once exhilarating and crushing.