Intimately Lightweight

Primary {Robert Drew & Co, 1960}

As an extension of LIFE magazine's photojournalistic methodology, Primary does something quite outstanding in progressing the realm of candid art. The economy and mobility offered by the introduction of the first lightweight synchronized sound systems certainly spawned the first instances of true reportage in documentary cinema. Also, the collectivist approach of Robert Drew's team in both the editing and capturing created what has become the modern standard of "coverage" in following cultural and political happenings.

What struck me as unique about Primary is the sense of historical present offered by the absence of both interviews and inserted text. This observational film escapes the limitations of narrative reorganization (whether intentional or accidental) by arranging its material in a forthright, highly photographic manner. It shows the two candidates out in public working, not as talking heads, or up on pulpits. It even shows, without a fixed perspective, the mundanely repetitive nature of the work that these candidates assign themselves. The film makes its purpose one of revelation, not motivation, and thus frees itself from being in any way idiosyncratic or commanding in its examination.