For as long as we have been celebrating the history of cinema, there has been a concerted effort to cite someone as the proverbial “father” of the medium. There is a debate around who we can consider the first true pioneer, so it would seem that the most appropriate solution is not to label an individual as the founder, but rather to take a more collective view. In this regard, we can name four individuals as the formative figures of the motion picture: Thomas Edison was the first person to capture images on film, whereas Auguste and Louis Lumière pioneered the art of projecting these images. The third, and some may argue most important, figure is Georges Méliès, whose importance is not necessarily based on pioneering the technology, but rather mastering the form. Instead of capturing everyday life in motion, he created the art of cinematic storytelling, using his background as a magician as a powerful commodity for the creation of some of the earliest and most influential artworks ever produced, coming right at the dawn of the 20th century, in which the medium would grow to arguably the most influential form of entertainment for several reasons. His incredible artistry and the legacy he left behind after his death in 1938 is the subject of The Méliès Mystery, in which director Eric Lange, who has devoted much of his career to exploring the development of the cinematic form and the people who are most pivotal to its growth, collaborates with the likes of Michel Gondry and Costas-Gavras (both self-acclaimed scholars and devotees of the great filmmaker, who provide context and commentary to showcase his remarkable legacy) to explore the life and times of Méliès, including the various trials and tribulations he encountered throughout his immensely influential career. Narrated by Leonard Maltin, one of our foremost authorities on the history of cinema (making him the perfect person to tell this story), The Méliès Mystery is one of the most fascinating accounts on the history of cinema, as explored through the story of the individual who made it what it is today.

On a fundamental level, The Méliès Mystery serves as a terrific account of the titular filmmaker and his life, providing a succinct but thorough discussion of his career, starting with his early life working in his father’s factory, whose share he used to purchase the theatre that would become the sanctuary for his incredible art, which would in turn lay the foundation for his cinematic endeavours, covering most of his life until his passing in 1938, by which point he was able to see the medium that he helped pioneer flourishing and becoming one of the most engaging forms of entertainment. Lange is a very creative filmmaker, and his efforts in constructing this story are incredible, since it is slightly unorthodox and challenging in certain areas. His documentaries are simple but have a remarkable depth, and they often avoid overt extravagance or anything that isn’t entirely authentic, while still having that necessary swell of emotions that make it clear the importance of the story, as well as the director’s fervent love for the material, the two existing in tandem and being the foundation for a really tremendous examination of his work, which is truly iconic and deep enough to warrant an endless conversation, both in the achievements he made during his lifetime, as well as the legacy he left behind, which some may argue eclipses that which he did while he was alive. There are several aspects of The Méliès Mystery that warrant discussion and attention, and Lange continues his streak of making beautiful, poetic documentaries that are both celebratory and engaging, quite a rare combination for a genre that sometimes tends towards objective expression of facts, rather than an active glimpse into what they mean, both in terms of the subject’s life and the people whose work he inspired in countless ways.

There are many aspects of The Méliès Mystery that warrant discussion, and Lange makes sure that everything is kept precise and direct. Running at only an hour in length, it never overstays its welcome, but somehow still manages to tell a very thorough story despite its limited running time, which is incredible for a documentary with such a large scope. There are many moving parts that keep The Méliès Mystery afloat, creating a memorable and wide-ranging exploration of his artistic endeavours, while looking deeper into the man behind the iconic work. The film is mainly structured around archival footage, nearly all of it shot by Méliès throughout his lifetime, lovingly restored by several specialists over the decades, their efforts to preserve the work that survived after he tried to destroy as much of his films as he could being extraordinary. Unfortunately, by the nature of his decision to get rid of most of his work, coupled with the fact that film stock decays over time, there are many of his masterpieces that have been lost and will never be seen again. However, there is more than enough surviving work to showcase exactly why he holds such incredible influence, not only in terms of his technological and creative advancements, but the fact that he essentially set the foundation for modern cinema to actually tell stories, rather than just be footage recorded from everyday life. This film is a tremendous document of his life and work – the blending of footage from his films with photographs and recordings from the time in which he was active (much of it involving Méliès himself, which may be surprising to many) gives this film more depth than we may have initially expected and allows us even more access to his story than ever before, creating a multilayered tapestry that celebrates his incredible work, while showcasing his unique artistic vision in vibrant, meaningful detail.

However, there is more to The Méliès Mystery than we initially expect based on a cursory glance, and it becomes clear that this is not only dedicated to exploring his life and career, and instead has wider ambitions, which it makes very clear from the start. The film discusses Méliès’s resignation into obscurity and death midway through, with the second half of the film being about the legacy he left behind, and his impact on cinema as a whole. This aligns with common perceptions that surround Méliès as a cinematic figure – he wasn’t influential on his own, but rather the work he did is what kept his legacy alive, especially in how it influenced many other filmmakers. Even if you have not seen any of his films, there are images from his work that are stark and brilliant, and have become iconic in the history of film, which shows that we can’t only look at the artist himself, but also how others have used his work to examine their own stories. Much of the film focuses on the efforts to restore his supposedly lost works – most of what is available for us to watch now were made possible through the laborious efforts of people over the years to restore and preserve whatever remained of his work, which were mostly found in basements and hidden in storage, rather than being kept in museums or film institutes where they belong. Some may even argue that the art of film preservation itself came into being through these efforts to restore Méliès’ work (the film even remarks on how there was a watershed moment when a devotee of the director’s work decided that it was imperative to preserve these works, rather than viewing them as disposable pieces of entertainment), only amplified by the sense of urgency that comes when we realize that these are objectively the first films, works produced at the very dawn of the medium. The film makes use aware of the importance of Méliès and his legacy, which is shown in vibrant detail, capturing every aspect of his work beautifully.

It stands to reason that we didn’t require a documentary to know that Méliès was an incredibly important artist, someone whose work is impeccable and influential. However, this film never intended to be a discursive analysis of his importance (which is an objective fact), but rather a beautiful and poetic account of his life, giving viewers access to the story of the man behind the iconic images – not only his own, but the myriad of other films produced in the century following his career. Lange constructs a spirited and meaningful account of the trials and tribulations of the proverbial Magician of Montreuil, the founder of cinema and arguably the person who should be credited with pioneering the industry and making it what it is today, at least in his way. As this film boldly remarks in one of its many poetic interludes that focus on emphasizing his artistic curiosities and how they manifested visually and narratively, Méliès was someone who was constantly captivated by “the fabulous beauty of images” – this is a succinct, straightforward and beautiful description that condenses his entire raison d’etre into only a few words. There have been countless examinations of his work, both through his artistic endeavours and the technical inspiration behind them, so it seems only logical that a documentary made about his life would explore both in detail. The Méliès Mystery is a terrific film, a well-made documentary that has the utmost respect and adoration for its subject, and one that appreciates the nuances that go into the creation of such a work, which entails a blend of balancing reverence for the subject and the willingness to look behind the veneer to focus on the life that occurred away from the lens of his camera, which was as influential in his creative process as his artistic ambitions. If anything, The Méliès Mystery serves to be a firm reminder of his incredible body of work and his experimental style that was initially subjected to scorn but inevitably gained the respect it deserved. While it seems logical that cinema would have developed regardless of whether or not Méliès was involved, it likely would not have been quite the same, since his pioneering work with narrative construction, visual composition and genre remain extremely influential, which is the overarching message of this film, and one of the more intriguing aspects of this wonderful and insightful documentary about one of the great artists of his generation.