A votre santé (1956)
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Générique principal
À Votre Santé (De Pierre Thévenard), 1951, Archives françaises du film
Études Cinématographiques
À votre Santé !
Réalisation de Pierre Thévenard
Assistant réalisateur Maurice Pech
Prises de vues Albert Viguier Marcel Fradetal assistés De Gilbert Grosjean
Musique de Olivier Bernard
Schémas et dessins animés de Serge Tessarech et Marcel Breuil
Commentaire dit par Jean Davy Sociétaire de La Comédie Française
Montage Georges Alepee
Régie Pierre Cellier
Son Maurice Carrouet
Système E.S.C.C.
Les documents concernant ce film ont été communiqués par le Dr Léon Derobert Professeur agrégé de Médecine légale à la Faculté de Paris
Contenus
Thèmes médicaux
Sujet
The dangers of alcohol to society, health and the psyche
Genre dominant
Résumé
The film presents the dangers of alcohol and reminds viewers of the extent to which wine and liqueur are part of France’s identity. It provides an overview of the preconceived ideas about alcohol, explains its physiological and psychological dangers, presents figures for measuring the scope of alcoholism in French society and illustrates harmful behaviour resulting from alcohol consumption. The prejudices of the elderly and the recklessness of the youth are particularly highlighted in the film.
Contexte
Under the leadership of the Mendès-France government, public action against alcoholism began in 1954 and was marked by
- the closing of public houses and the regulation of points of sale (especially in workplaces: from this point forward, employers had to ensure that drinking water was available to employees);
- the development of education in school on road safety and the dangers of alcohol;
- the launch of anti-alcohol advertising campaigns; and
- advertising regulations prohibiting any association of alcohol with sport or operating a vehicle.
In 1954, the Haut Comité d'Études et d'Informations sur l'Alcoolisme [High Committee for Study and Information on Alcoholism] was created.
Éléments structurants du film
- Images de reportage : Non.
- Images en plateau : Non.
- Images d'archives : Oui.
- Séquences d'animation : Oui.
- Cartons : Oui.
- Animateur : Non.
- Voix off : Oui.
- Interview : Non.
- Musique et bruitages : Oui.
- Images communes avec d'autres films : Oui.
Comment le film dirige-t-il le regard du spectateur ?
The film directing combines different registers: humoristic animated film, fictional sketches and animated graphics. Different registers addressing the topic are used to adapt the message to different audiences so that each viewer is able to identify with a type of sequence.
Comment la santé et la médecine sont-elles présentées ?
Medicine and health are presented as necessary actors for treating alcoholism. Although health professionals are not once seen in the film, the narrator is clearly educated in medicine and health. The way he counsels the two workers at the bar gives viewers the impression that he is perhaps a general practitioner, one who is very familiar with the social class of his patients. Furthermore, health in particular is depicted in the film as something that must be preserved by avoiding alcoholism, if not simply for your own good, at least for the good of your family, your lineage as well as your coworkers and fellow road users.
Diffusion et réception
Où le film est-il projeté ?
Cinemas and other places advocating for alcoholism prevention (companies)
Communications et événements associés au film
Public
Suitable for all audiences
Audience
Descriptif libre
Alcohol in French Culture
[01'04"]
The film opens with a master shot of a pleasant French landscape in which vineyards, orchards, a road and a village can be seen. Commentary: "Grapevine is one of the preferred crops grown on French soil”. A farmer is seen knocking apples down from an apple tree. "Many other fruit trees are the source of fermented drinks and liqueurs". Shots depict factories and a row of barrels, evoking the industrialisation of wine production. Wines and liqueurs are sold in massive quantities abroad, but the French themselves “pay great tribute to them”. A shot of a drunken man lying under a barrel appears, followed by scenes of village celebrations overflowing with alcohol. Young and old country folk, with a beret or a cap glued on their head, drink from a bowl or a cup. A dishevelled woman raises her glass; in all the film, this is the only woman who is shown to be under the influence of alcohol. Celebratory alcohol does not only concern the working class: the film carries on by showing a social banquet where guests are elegantly dressed and gathered around a candlelit table covered with a white tablecloth. The candlelight is reflected in the glasses and bottles. The commentary specifies that "celebrities and political figures from France and abroad are rallied in its honour”. A ceremony of a noble nature associated with wine is also overflowing with alcohol. “It is not surprising that there are so many deeply rooted misconceptions with regard to alcohol”.
[03'07"]
A Daily Dose of Alcohol
[03'07"]
Interior/Night. A close medium shot captures two men sitting together at a bar one evening. They clink their glasses “to good health”. While moving his hand from his throat to his protruding belly, one of them adds, “Oh, it feels so good going down!” The narrator addresses the men who turn around to look at the camera: “Going down, you say!” The camera zooms in on the stomach of the man before fading to an animated diagram with a black background. The diagram shows the parts of the body in question as the commentary describes how alcohol is digested and spreads throughout the body via the bloodstream: stomach, intestine, liver and brain. “Impregnating the brain clouds the mind and alters personality”. The different reactions to wine are each illustrated with a silent sketch: excessive happiness or sadness and aggressiveness in social situations. The animated diagram reappears. When the cerebellum is reached, balance is lost. A burlesque animated sequence by Serge Tessarech (a collaborator of Jean Image) shows an intoxicated man staggering in the street.
The film then focuses on the chronic nature of alcohol consumption. First, it addresses the habit among workers of drinking a litre of wine every day, "without which many fellow countrymen would feel unable to do their job”. There is a shot of a bottle on a worktop accompanied by the commentary explaining that it is found in everyone’s hand and on every table. The commentary reminds viewers that it contains 100 cm3 of ethyl alcohol, an “eminently toxic substance”. Pan of bottles aligned on a shelf behind a bar. This time the commentary points out the daily practice of having a pre-dinner or after-dinner drink, “which over time brings about the most serious health effects”. The dreaded consequence is gastritis or liver cirrhosis. A clinical shot of an excessively swollen stomach covered with prominent veins appears before a black background. Another consequence involves institutionalisation. Shots of the gate and the outer wall of an institution are seen, followed by an animated diagram presenting figures. The cases of cirrhosis quadrupled from 1947 to 1950 and tripled from 1950 to 1956. Psychiatric cases dropped by 41% with the disappearance of alcoholism (the term used in the film is “alcohol”). Next, an international comparison is made: France is the leading consumer, ahead of Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, England, Spain, etc.
[07'19"]
Alcohol, Progeny and Drink-Driving
[07'19"]
Return to the bar. The other drinker reacts by maintaining that everyone knows people who drank a great deal of alcohol and yet lived a long life. “Take me for example, my grandfather was a winegrower. He drank at least five litres of wine per day, but that did not prevent him from living to the age of 72”. This is a weak argument as the man who put it forward seems to be in quite bad health. The commentary retorts: "Did your father fare just as well? And your children?" The drinker mentions accidents and weak constitutions to explain short lifespans, to which the commentary replies, “Of course, unless the grandfather, in wasting his health capital, deprived his descendants of a portion of their inheritance”.
The film then touches on drink-driving. A car accident occurs at nighttime and emergency help arrives. The commentary recalls that “Since 1 January 1956, police officers may have a clinical examination carried out if they suspect that an alleged perpetrator of an accident was intoxicated”. In Beauvais and Morlaix, where investigations have been specifically conducted, it has been established that more than half of traffic accidents are caused by drink-driving.
A sketch shows a drunken man leaving a house and climbing into a car. He starts the engine. "A man driving under the influence of alcohol feels as though he is in tip-top shape. His false perception of his ability to drive incites him to take risks with little regard for the Highway Code”. A slight low angle master shot captures a countryside road. An automobile carelessly overtakes another. This conduct could cause accidents and even death.
[11'08"]
Alcohol in a Work and Family Environment
[11'08"]
Interior/Day. In a factory, two workers talk briefly beside a machine. They are worried about one of their colleagues who can be seen in the background. “I was with him at noon. He didn’t drink much but is sozzled”. They glance in his direction. The camera focuses on one of the two workers as he returns to his work. A cry is heard off-screen. The worker shouts with little surprise, "Here we go”. In his office, the foreman says to the workers who came to hear about what happened that “If it were now, we would have never accepted someone like him at the pre-recruitment medical examination!” Before a black background, the injured man shows his hands with missing fingers. “The result: a maimed skilled worker whose ability to work has become practically nil”.
[12'43"]
Another consequence of the repeated and abusive consumption of alcohol involves a man who has become a “domestic tyrant” at home. Interior/Kitchen. A woman is standing in front of a stove while another is sitting down and reading. The first woman goes to the window and says, "There’s your husband! He looks fine though!” With a bitter tone, the other woman replies, “He always does! And yet he gets his fix every day”. Cut. Interior/Dining room. The woman is putting dinner on the table when her husband comes inside. His movements are erratic and his face is tense with anger. Criticisms rain down on his wife and then on his son who arrives late to the dinner table. Complete silence punctuates his angry talk. "The soup is not salty enough, yet again!" While adding salt to his soup, the man drops his knife into the bowl and blames it on his rheumatism. “Don’t laugh!" he says to his son who, sensing imminent danger, ducks his head. After verbal comes physical abuse: the man stands up and slaps his son about who tries to protect himself by raising his elbow. “And you turn's coming!" he says as he points at his wife. There is a close-up of her face marked by grief and fear.
These two back-to-back sketches shock viewers with their intensity. They are directed as realistic dramatic pieces and call to mind the work of Jacques Becker. The inside of the factory and the homes is recreated with care, and the polished cuts complement the concise narrative. The actors play out each shot as if each sketch had to become a full-length feature film: the looks are tense, the retorts fly and the quick gestures rapidly lead to violence.
[15'29"]
Youth, between the Counterexample of Drinkers and the Example of Athletes
[15'29"]
"Let’s not forget these ridiculous dares that young people are all too often fond of". A group of young men and women are sitting at a bar where glasses are filled, emptied and filled again. Alain has to drink several in a row. Young men and women on both sides cheer him on. The music lacks harmony once he reaches the fourth glass. There is a close-up of Alain’s face filled with apprehension as he raises the glass to his lips. He collapses. "Yep, dead. Death by massive intoxication”. His premature death is subsequently represented by a flame extinguished before a black background.
A master shot of a road going over a bridge in a green landscape. A peloton races over the bridge. The commentary takes the riders as an example. “During the Tour de France, banners and advertising vehicles indeed boast the merits of alcohol, and yet, what do the stage winners drink? Water”. Shot of weightlifters in full exertion and then of acrobats performing various stunts. The commentary notes that for them alcohol is strictly prohibited. ‘We may say, “Their life is on the line”, but is this not also the case for you if you make a habit of drinking alcohol? It is therefore in the spirit of ‘good health!’ that we have compiled the footage making up this film’. Intertitle with the word "Fin" [The End].
[17'41"]
Notes complémentaires
Références et documents externes
Contributeurs
- Auteurs de la fiche : Joël Danet
- 2 Traducteurs_vers_anglais : Sherry Stanbury
- Sous-titres Anglais : Michael Craig
