This short subject, whose title translates as 'The baby's first steps', has been jokingly referred to as "the first suspense film" by Bertrand Tavernier, and its easy to see why. When I try to teach students the basics of how early films were constructed around the technical limitations of the Lumiere Cinematographe, I always show them this film. To summarise, a young child walks falteringly along a path from the background to the foreground (the image contains a diagonal composition in depth typical of the earliest Lumiere films - think of the famous train arriving at a station), aiming to reach her doll, which has been placed at the end of the path, providing a quest-based micro-narrative. What this illustrates is the way these pseudo-documentaries were not randomly-shot travelogues and actualities. The distance the baby has to walk (guided by a nanny) has obviously been measured to allow her 'journey' to be completed within the (approximate) 50 second time-limit placed on the duration of films by the camera's capacity. But she only just makes it. The scene has been manipulated in many ways and is less a picture of Parisian infantile life at the end of the 19th century and more a study of how situations had to be manipulated and fictionalised to fit them into the restrictive set of technical options on offer.
4 Reviews
Going for the toy
Horst_In_Translation14 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
"Premiers pas de bébé" or "Baby's First Steps" is a slightly over 30 second-long Lumière short film that shows us a baby who learns how to walk. It's still a bit shaky, but the will to reach the toy is bigger than the fear to fall down. The toy lies near the camera, probably as a trick to have the baby move closer and closer to the audience. Slightly behind the baby, we see a woman, probably her mother, who makes sure the baby doesn't fall too hard during the journey. Finally as the kid is almost there, the inevitable happens. It falls down. The film ends before we see if it really manages to get up and make the last steps to the toy successfully. What I found most entertaining about this one was the baby's dress. it was quite a windy day and it's funny to watch how it flows so strongly in the wind that it makes the little kid look almost like a tasty little cream puff windbag.
Premiers pas de bébé
Michael_Elliott21 September 2018
Premiers pas de bébé (1896)
This film from the Lumiere brothers has a mother taking her young baby out of a carriage and placing her down on the ground. She then begins walking until eventually falling down and being picked up by the mother. This is certainly a cute and adorable film that manages to at least put a smile on your face, which makes it worth watching and especially since it runs just under a minute. The Lumiere brothers were becoming experts at this type of "actuality" film and there's no doubt that this one here is charming enough to where you can easily recommend it. Plus, check out the clothes that the baby is wearing!
This film from the Lumiere brothers has a mother taking her young baby out of a carriage and placing her down on the ground. She then begins walking until eventually falling down and being picked up by the mother. This is certainly a cute and adorable film that manages to at least put a smile on your face, which makes it worth watching and especially since it runs just under a minute. The Lumiere brothers were becoming experts at this type of "actuality" film and there's no doubt that this one here is charming enough to where you can easily recommend it. Plus, check out the clothes that the baby is wearing!
I wonder...were these really the baby's first steps?
Tornado_Sam23 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I mean, look at how the little fatso walks. Does it really seem as though she/he is inexperienced with walking? She/he seems to be walking just fine, so it doesn't actually seem as though these are really 'the baby's first steps'. Then again, maybe I'm being a bit too critical of the title. As it is, the mother really seems to be putting the baby up for a challenge here. The sidewalk is relatively smooth...until the end, where the baby must step down to reach the toy. He comes closer...closer...and...he falls down. Mother looks on, sympathetically. Well, you set him up for it, woman! As the film ends, the baby reaches and grabs the toy.
As I implied in the title, this thing is probably staged. Even if there's not much plot, the Lumieres are at least moving into fiction a bit.
By the way, the plot summary and image for this title are incorrect. They both refer to a completely different film that took place in a different setting. Apparently, that film had to do with a mother taking two children out for a walk.
As I implied in the title, this thing is probably staged. Even if there's not much plot, the Lumieres are at least moving into fiction a bit.
By the way, the plot summary and image for this title are incorrect. They both refer to a completely different film that took place in a different setting. Apparently, that film had to do with a mother taking two children out for a walk.
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