10 amazing films about photographers and photography

1. Life

life

• UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, USA, 2015.
• Drama, biography.
• Duration: 11 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.1.

The plot covers several weeks in the life of fashion photographer Dennis Stock and young James Dean. In 1955, the guys accidentally meet at a party, and this meeting turns the fate of both.

The film was directed by the famous photographer Anton Corbijn, who shot videos for U2 and Depeche Mode. He does a great job with heartfelt biographical stories. For example, “Control” is about the life of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis. In addition, Robert Pattinson and Dane DeHaan also played beautifully here.

2. neon demon

The Neon Demon

• USA, Belgium, Denmark, France, 2016.
• Drama, thriller, horror.
• Duration: 117 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.2.

Provincial Jessie dreams of becoming a model. Immediately after moving to Los Angeles, she attracts the attention of a major agency and a well-known photographer. But the envy of the rivals, from whom the heroine unwittingly took away the job, turns out to be too strong.

Nicholas Winding Refn made a beautiful, but provocative and rather creepy film. The world of the modeling business appears cruel and empty in it, and some characters make you want to run away without looking back. For example, photographer Jack MacArthur, with his heavy evaluating look, does not cause admiration or interest, but only fear and disgust.

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3. Photographer from Mauthausen

El photografo de Mauthausen

• Spain, 2018.
• Thriller, drama, military, biography, history.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.8.

A young Spanish photographer, Francisco Boix, was sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp at the very beginning of World War II. There he has to endure terrible things. The hero manages to take a series of photographs about the atrocities committed by the Germans. But in order for the world to see these pictures, Francisco will have to somehow hide and take the negatives with him.

An incredibly difficult, but at the same time informative Spanish film based on real events. Pictures taken by Francisco Boyks at the risk of his life, becomeThe Spanish photographer who captured the horrors of Mauthausen / EL PAÍS important evidence at the Nuremberg trials.

The photographer himself, unfortunately, died very early, living only to the age of 30. Probably, it was his stay in the death camp that undermined his health.

4. Photo per hour

One Hour Photo

• USA, 2002
• Thriller, drama.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.8.

Lonely and introverted, Sai works in the hourly photo section of a supermarket. In the absence of relatives or friends, he dreams of becoming a member of the family of his regular client - so much so that he pastes their photographs on the wall in his apartment. But one day the hero finds out that in reality the family does not look like the ideal image that he painted for himself.

If you only remember Robin Williams for his tragicomic roles, director/writer Mark Romanek's film will convince you that he's not just a talented, but also a very versatile actor. After all, the image of a notorious and cowardly elderly voyeur turned out to be no less vivid than the amusing Madame Doubtfire or the kind teacher John Keating.

5. Away

get out

• USA, Japan, 2017.
• Horror, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 104 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.6.

Talented black photographer Chris Washington is on his way to meet the relatives of his white girlfriend Rose. Her father and mother meet the guest with surprising cordiality and warmth. But behind their smiles and hugs lies a dark secret.

Director and screenwriter Jordan Peele not just made the main character a photographer. After all, it is Chris's ability to notice details that will ultimately play a key role, and a simple camera flash will open the eyes of the hero and the audience to what is happening.

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6. Great

Minamata

• UK, USA, UAE, Japan, 2020.
• Drama, biography.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.6.

World-famous photographer Eugene Smith is going through a life crisis. One day, he learns that in the Japanese town of Minamata, a local factory is dumping chemical waste into the bay. Poisoned water causes terrible diseases among residents, but the owners of the enterprise refuse to admit their guilt in polluting the bay. Activists cannot win this war on their own, but Eugene and his photo are their chance to tell the whole world about what is happening.

The film tells the true story of how the Chisso Corporation poisoned innocent people with mercury for decades, and Eugene Smith made a legendary report about it. The photographer himself, who played Johnny Depp, paid for his work with his health: in Minamata, he was badly wounded by yakuza hired by Chisso.

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7. photo enlargement

blow-up

• UK, Italy, USA, 1966.
• Thriller, drama, detective.
• Duration: 11 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.6.

A London fashion photographer named Thomas lives a busy but rather meaningless life. Once he was walking in the park and accidentally took a picture of a couple in love. Later, showing the film, the hero realizes that he captured the murder.

It is the first film in Michelangelo Antonioni's English-language trilogy, which also includes Profession: Reporter and Zabriskie Point. Interestingly, the film was based on the story of Julio Cortazar "The Devil's Drooling". And the writer, in turn, was inspired by Hitchcock's painting "Rear Window", which we will touch upon below.

Genre affiliation of "Blowup" is not so easy to determine. Formally, this is a detective story, but the film cannot boast of a clear dramatic structure, and the investigation conducted by the protagonist does not really end with anything. But on the other hand, the mysteriousness and duality of the images to this day gives critics and viewers a reason for a variety of interpretations.

8. Martha Cooper: A Tale of Graffiti

Martha: A Picture Story

• USA, Australia, 2019.
• Documentary, biography.
• Duration: 82 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.7.

This is a documentary, but it is so interestingly staged and so capturesthat just has to be on this list. The film tells about the legendary Martha Cooper, a cult figure in the world of street art and photojournalism.

Her camera once captured the beginnings of graffiti culture in New York City in the late 1970s. Subsequently, these pictures were included in the Subway Art book, which inspired young people around the world to take up street art.

But Martha's interests are not limited to graffiti. She traveled the world and became the first female photojournalist for the New York Post. Now Martha is already 78 years old, but she is still in great creative shape and continues to shoot street art.

9. Window to the courtyard

rear window

• USA, 1954.
• Thriller, detective.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.5.

Photographer LB Jeffries has been forced to stay at home after breaking his leg. Out of boredom, he constantly watches his neighbors from the window. And gradually begins to suspect the man from the apartment opposite in the murder of his wife.

One of the undisputed masterpieces of the great Alfred Hitchcock. It has everything that people like the films of the master for: an unusual approach to filming, innovative editing for that time and skillfully injected suspense.

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10. Salt of the earth

The Salt of the Earth

• France, Brazil, Italy, 2014.
• Documentary, biography, history.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.5.

Another non-fiction work, which nevertheless needs to be seen by everyone. This is a film by German director Wim Wenders about the Brazilian photojournalist Sebastian Salgado. And the language does not dare to call such a tape documentary.

The great director tells the biography of an equally great photographer as a story of disappointment in people and the subsequent revival of faith. And he does it so emotionally that when viewing it is simply impossible to remain indifferent.