Alice

La Belle Époque: a time of prosperity and tantalizing innovation. As Paris flourishes with cultural and scientific advancements, some traditions remain frustratingly unchanged. The expectations placed on women, for example, are maddeningly decorous for Alice (Bérénice Bejo, The Artist, TIFF ’11), who dreams of a life beyond the domestic. When she secures a position working in the office of Léon Gaumont (Thibaut Evrard, TIFF ’17’s Submergence), the aperture of her life widens irrevocably.

Gaumont is a craftsman, tirelessly tinkering with his designs for a camera that can capture moving images. While his mechanical genius ensures the capabilities of his equipment, the question of what to show quickly becomes a point of inspiration for Alice. Her innate understanding of narrative as the driving force behind cinema’s connection to an audience catches Gaumont’s attention, as well as that of rival Charles Pathé (Yannick Choirat, Rust and Bone, TIFF ‘12) and his associate Mitchell (François Arnaud, TIFF ’09’s J'ai tué ma mère). Also intrigued by Alice’s creativity and ambition is Herbert Blaché (Oscar Lesage, The Substance, TIFF ’24), who Alice comes to admire as they share their passion for this exhilarating new art form.

While even the most casual cinephile likely knows the names of Gaumont and Pathé, history has — as it so often does — obscured the essential contributions of a pioneering woman at the centre of an emerging industry. Alice not only brings the triumphs of the titular character to the screen, but this sweeping series captures the thrilling blend of technology and creativity that captivated early audiences of cinema — and continues to do so today.

GEOFF MACNAUGHTON