Edition : First / Paris / Editions du Seuil / 1959 / Hardcover. / VG+
Large Oblong 8vo. 144pp. Laminate boards as issued. Black & White plates. Text in French. A little rubbing and scuffing to corners.
Large Oblong 8vo. 144pp. Laminate boards as issued. Black & White plates. Text in French. A little rubbing and scuffing to corners.
A key work in Marker's compex career. Already established as a journalist, and working with film makers and friends such as Alain Resnais, William Klein and Agnes Varda, in 1959 he travelled to North Korea as part of a delegation of journalists and observers. The resulting book was presented as a 'Court m'trage' or 'short film' divided into 9 chapters in collaboration with Juliette Caputo- and stands as an early example of his cine roman technique later used in 'commentaires' and translated into his most famous film 'La Jetee' in 1962- where words, space, frequency and image resonance all interplay into narrative. Coreennes also exemplifies Marker's earlier sentiments with the Petit Planete series he edited at Seuil, "Not a guidebook, not a history book, not a propaganda brochure, not a traveller's impressions, but instead equivalent to the conversation we would like to have with someone intelligent and well versed in the country that interests us.", a sentiment which would have greatly contrasted with the west's perceived image of North Korea in the late fifties. That the book appears so natural and effortless is only testament to Maker's mastery of image, text and narrative.
