La fée aux choux

...Wikipedia states. I'll go along with that. In 1896, films were relatively new--and, the Lumiere Bros were still turning out actuality shorts. Apparently, this little vignette is based on the concept that baby boys come from cabbages (and baby girls from roses). There is no real story and all you see is a fairy of sorts pulling babies out of cabbages. At a minute long you can't expect much more.

I will admit I am not too familiar with director Alice Guy. This is the only film I've seen by her (except for "Making an American Citizen" from 1912). Reportedly, this is Guy's first film. About that reviewer who said it's all about child cruelty--forget that! Yes, she wasn't exactly gentle to these babies, but I doubt they were hurt all that bad, and it feels harmless enough to me at least. At least that aforementioned reviewer did inform me that the 1896 original is lost and the 1900 remake survives. Watch it anyway--it's available on YouTube. And while you won't be impressed, you will have to give it to Guy--these sets and costumes are ahead of their time.

The first female director debuts with smiling child abuse. Yay. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive, but those babies don't look very happy when Alice Guy dumps them on the ground. The first one specifically looks like she's suffering when she falls on her side and flails her arms, but hey, this was made in the 1900s, so a little cruelty is acceptable, right? After all, these kids will have to survive two world wars, so they better get used to how hard life (and the floor) can be! By the way, I love how IMDb commemorates Alice Guy in the video "A salute to female directors" and opens with scenes from "La fée aux choux"! I guess they weren't so bothered by babies being thrown on the ground either. Anyway, respect to female directors, respect to women, even if they're dragging newborns out of the ground by their arms and tossing them onto the ground, smiling like maniacs! That's entertainment, baby! Better get used to it!

Well, this one is quite a bore - nothing more to see than a lady dressed as fairy picking up babies out of large fake cabbages.

2/10

Considered the first film made by a female director and the first feature of fiction in cinema, "The Cabbage Fairy" (La fée aux choux) is a charming piece of film history. Based on a European fairy tale, the film is a minute-sized glimpse at the directress Alice Guy-Blaché playing a fairy who plucks babies out of cabbages while employing theatrical gestures with a winning smile in every move. Pioneering and still quite entertaining, the film is a fascinating view on the origins of film and the distant past.

Ms. Guy, an enchanting actor, makes the connection between humanity and nature. Mirthful and succinct. -David Olive, Toronto