“Once upon a time in Marseille”, an intimate city
“I was born almost 3,000 years ago, long before France became France. I am one of the most beautiful ports bordering the waters of the Mediterranean, a city-world where all the peoples of the Earth come to take refuge. » So begins the documentary Once upon a time in Marseilleswritten and directed by Hugues Nancy, who has chosen to tell us about the Mediterranean city by personifying it.
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Founded by the Greeks more than 2,600 years ago, architecturally transformed by the powers that wanted to leave their mark there, ravaged by the Nazis, then modernized by architects like Le Corbusier at the turn of the 1950s, Marseille reveals its very long story.
A port above all
We discover the activity of its port, particularly important during the colonial period. When all the goods arrived from Africa, the West Indies or Indochina, but also the refugees seeking asylum: Italian migrants, Armenians, Jewish Turks or white Russians… This mixing of nationalities and stories is still the richness of Marseille today today, each bringing a bit of the outside world to falsify a full-fledged identity. It gives each Marseillais this feeling of belonging to no one other than their city, independent, indomitable.
The documentary does not overlook the darker part of its history, such as the presence of the local mafia and the settling of scores, which are still frequent today. Nevertheless, it sheds light on other aspects of the city to counterbalance its reputation for violence and poverty and provide a fresh look at its present. Through the voice of singer Clara Luciani, originally from Marseille, the city is embodied, becomes human and alive. Thanks to archival or contemporary images and numerous testimonies, the city and its marvels are presented to us from various angles, sometimes unexpected, so that the viewer has the feeling of entering its intimacy.