Model (film)
1981 documentary film by Frederick Wiseman
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Model[a] is a 1981 American documentary film directed by Frederick Wiseman.[3] The film examines the modeling industry in New York City.[4] It was Wiseman's ninth documentary for WNET, a New York PBS station.[5]
| Model | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster with models Apollonia van Ravenstein, Sara Kapp, and Pat Cleveland posing in furs | |
| Directed by | Frederick Wiseman |
| Produced by | Frederick Wiseman |
| Cinematography | John Davey[1] |
| Edited by | Frederick Wiseman |
| Distributed by | Zipporah Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 130 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The film follows the Zoli modeling agency, owned by Zoltan "Zoli" Rendessy.[3][6] The film shows Zoli himself, his employees, models, clients, and photographers.[4]
Synopsis
Like all of Wiseman's films, Model has no narrator.[5] The film opens with a cityscape of lower Manhattan, showing the World Trade Center.[7] The film intercuts fashion sequences (runway shows, photo shoots, a pantyhose commercial),[5] Manhattan street scenes (roller skaters, an ambulance, "pedestrians who often look livelier than the models"[8]),[3][9] and shots of mannequins in store windows.[10]
The agency screens aspiring models and connects them with clients,[6] in the process reducing them to labels and stereotypes,[11] including the young executive, the all-American girl, the sophisticate, the streetsmart, and the Avon look.[12] Zoli tells one female aspirant who is 5 ft 6.5 in (168.9 cm) tall that the height is "too short for what we do... It's a problem," but in the following scene, a woman only 0.75 in (1.9 cm) taller is told, "I think we have some possibilities here."[13]
The film's longest sequence, running nearly 30 minutes, is the making of a television commercial for Evan-Picone pantyhose.[6][14] The director instructs the male and female model to run into each other repeatedly.[15] For the same commercial, model Apollonia van Ravenstein's leg is photographed over 79 takes to create a four-second "peacock effect."[14][16] The film shows the completed 30-second commercial.[10]
The film ends with an Oscar de la Renta runway show with twirling fashion models,[3][17] followed by a closing shot of the Manhattan skyline at night.[18]
Cast
- Alva Chinn
- Pat Cleveland[13]
- Pia Grønning
- Sara Kapp
- Apollonia van Ravenstein[16]
- Zoltan "Zoli" Rendessy
- Russell Todd
- Andy Warhol[1]
- Renauld White
Production
The film was shot in 1979 and 1980[13] on black-and-white film.[12] Wiseman selected the Zoli agency simply because "the idea of a model agency appealed to me ... and [Zoli] agreed."[19]
Wiseman did not research the modeling industry before filming, and described the editing process as discovery: "It is all a surprise since I know very little about the subject before I begin shooting. The idea is that the film should at least in part show what I learned as a consequence of the shoot and the long period of editing."[19]
Release
The film was broadcast on PBS on September 16, 1981.[3]
Reception
The film shows modeling as "monotonous, lacking autonomy, and devoid of internal satisfaction",[12] and as "a grind of rejections and retakes."[15] Novelist William T. Vollmann had expected the film to be glamorous and was surprised by its monotony.[15] The film examines how institutional routines become repetitive, drawing parallels to military operations.[20]
Model reflects Wiseman's increasing political consciousness,[21] contrasting the constructed imagery of advertising with the imperfections of the real world.[22] Before filming the pantyhose commercial, the New York City streets are cleaned.[23] Wiseman films another documentary crew shooting a shower interview with a male model,[24] revealing that the model is wearing underwear.[25] A street demonstration that appears to be a feminist protest is revealed to be the filming of a commercial.[26] The Zoli agency serves as a lens into the broader workings of advertising, marketing, and retail.[22]