Chaplin in Bali: Journey to the East. Directed by Raphael Millet (France 2017). Screening at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Visit viff.org for showtimes.
French filmmaker Raphael Millet sheds light on a little known aspect of Charlie Chaplin’s career in his new documentary, Chaplin in Bali, screening this week at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Based on 16mm footage Chaplin shot himself while on an extended vacation in Bali in 1932 Millet shows how the trip helped the Hollywood star make the leap from the silent era into “talkies.” He’d travelled to Indonesia by ship from Italy with his brother Sydney after completing a European press tour for City Lights, a 1931 silent comedy made while the rest of the industry was turning to sound. Bali, where the rhythmic gamelan music was heard everywhere, gave Chaplin a new lease on his creative life, rejuvenating both his political and esthetic ambitions. His next film, the 1936 masterpiece Modern Times, introduced The Tramp’s voice to audiences for the first time and included a musical score composed by Chaplin himself.
Millet spoke to the North Shore News about making Chaplin in Bali: Journey to the East.
North Shore News: What’s your interest in Chaplin? What drew you to this story?
Raphael Millet: I was interested to find out why someone like Chaplin who had done a lot of things, not easily impressed, was suddenly impressed by Bali. I think it has something to say about the power of Bali, the special energy of the island and I wanted to understand that through the eyes of someone like him.
North Shore News: As far as Chaplin himself, what was your personal take on him as a filmmaker? What interests you about him as a film pioneer?
Raphael Millet: I watched his movies since the age of five with my grandparents. Chaplin is something quite special. I’ve always liked his movies. He did everything. That’s what I realized when I came back to his films. He was doing everything. He was actor, producer, director. He composed the music when he wanted to have a score. That’s truly fascinating as a creator because you wonder what kind of energy, determination, will, you need to have to achieve that and to be able to do such wonderful movies.
North Shore News: :As you say in your film at this point in 1932 he was second-guessing his career as the Silent Era gave way to sound in “Talkies.” His Bali sojourn was a rejuvenation and affirmation for him as an artist. It took him outside the box.
Raphael Millet: Yes, exactly in 1932 he had a sort of midlife crisis. He even wanted to stop being a director. He was in Europe promoting a movie (City Lights) and he decided he would not go back to Hollywood. He was sick of it and instead took a boat and went east to see the Orient where he had never been. He was looking for something. He was in search of himself somehow and he found something special in Bali that resonated in him and brought a kind of rejuvenation and he was able to go back to Hollywood and feel inspired again.
North Shore News: Where was the film footage kept? Was it difficult for you to obtain it?
Raphael Millet: No, actually it was very easy to find. I was looking for the footage and I found the Chaplin Association was based in Paris. I’m French and live in Paris I just had to give them a call and they were like ‘Great idea. Why don’t you come over and have a look?’ That’s how it happened. The footage was there already digitized. It was in pristine condition and nobody had ever really used it, not even Chaplin because he had never done anything with it. I just had to piece it together because it was non-edited footage so I had to string it together but other than that it was beautiful footage.
North Shore News: Already digitized? Isn’t that kind of unusual?
Raphael Millet: The story is the Chaplin family found this footage in the late ’90s when they were looking through the mansion he had in Switzerland - that’s where he moved after he left the U.S. - and there were a lot of things in suitcases including reels and on these reels was written ‘Bali.’ The Chaplin Association, the estate that looks after the estate of Chaplin, decided to digitize it so it could be made available for research purposes or whatever. The first thing that I was given when I called them was a DVD of the footage.
North Shore News: Was Chaplin known to shoot much film outside the studio environment?
Raphael Millet: No he was not known to be anything other than a fiction filmmaker filming in studio. He had his own studio built and he was certainly not known as a documentary filmmaker. I found that very interesting: what is Chaplin going to film when he is not a Hollywood director but using a small camera in an environment he doesn’t know. You can see there is the eye of a filmmaker behind the images. What we are seeing is documentary and not fiction a very different side of Chaplin as a filmmaker.
North Shore News: How much film did he shoot?
Raphael Millet: The footage he shot is about 30 to 40 minutes. That was not much, certainly not enough for him to do anything with it but when it comes to filming Bali in the 30s it is a lot. Not many people had actually gone to Bali yet. When you look at it there’s a lot to learn purely from a factual and historical point of view.
North Shore News: In the film there’s some suggestion that some of the footage was edited before the lab returned it to Chaplin.
Raphael Millet: That’s a little mystery that surrounds the whole thing. Some things are missing. He was with his brother and Sydney wrote letters to the lab in Java where the film was sent to be processed and there was no clear answer. We don’t know what happened. There’s footage of Chaplin dancing and interacting with the Balinese and perhaps someone will find it.
North Shore News: How did Chaplin meet Walter Spies (the German artist who lived on Bali and acted as an unofficial ambassador for visitors)?
Raphael Millet: He was approached by Spies who of course knew of Chaplin and was very interested by the fact that such a famous actor could come to the island. Spies sent a note to Chaplin saying, ‘I’m a painter from Germany. I know the island. I could help you find your way around.’ I think that’s what contributed to extend their stay in Bali. They had not intended to stay so long. The Chaplin brothers were given access to rare places where very few non-Balinese would go in those days.
North Shore News: You mentioned Chaplin was a renaissance man who did almost everything himself, including compose music when he moved into the sound era. How did you approach the music you used in Chaplin in Bali?
Raphael Millet: One of the challenges when it came to Chaplin’s footage was that it was silent. He had no sound recording device with him so he was still like a silent filmmaker not yet in the world of the talkies. The footage was silent so with the help of a Balinese dance master we figured out what kind of dance we were seeing. We had to find the relevant music that would match and then we had to try to match it during the editing process. I think that’s one of the reasons the film works as it becomes alive because the music is there with the image.
