Place de la République

The title of French director Louis Malle's documentary film "Place De La République" can be interpreted in two distinctly different manners.For many viewers it is a decent documentary film about a famous area in Paris known as "Place De La République".Those who know French language well and are well versed with various subtle intricacies of French culture would not forfeit even a single minute to make out that this title is talking about the status of the French republic as a nation. Louis Malle has nicely blended these two elements while filming his film by choosing "Place De La République" area for a film shoot and republic of France as its political focus.Although the primary focus is on Paris as a French city,concerns of France as a country have not been overlooked as viewers get to hear and see many regional voices from different French areas.One big problem with this film is that Louis Malle follows a very primitive,raw form of documentary film making in which there is no narration.His choice of interviews is also very haphazard and it discourages viewers to form any kind of cohesive association with various people's lives which have been filmed.Louis Malle was a better director of fiction films but his documentary films also deserve to be watched as they provide interesting glimpses about how human beings behave in a social environment.However,this aspect is not fully developed in this film.