Mark Reviews Movies: THE VELVET QUEEN

The Velvet Queen, Oscilloscope Laboratories

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Review by Mark Dujsik | January 20, 2022

Vincent Munier is a nature photographer who has made a career of sitting and waiting with almost preternatural patience. Sylvain Tesson is an author who is regularly on the move, traveling for research, and always looking for the next thing. They team up in The Velvet Queen, director Marie Amiguet's documentary about these two very different men, as the writer learns how much he has been missing in his life of constantly moving forward and never really appreciating what's all around him.

That's the narrative of the film, at least. The method of it is more in line with Munier's profession, and indeed, the arc of the story is so dictated by the photographer's approach that he is credited as a director along with Amiguet. It almost certainly helps that some of the most stunning and important shots were captured by Munier.

The idea is simple: Munier, looking to photograph the rare and secretive snow leopard, and Tesson, who was certain that particular cat had gone extinct, travel across the terrain of the highlands in Tibet. Munier is the guide, leading the men (along with the off-camera director and cinematographer Léo-Pol Jacquot) across plains, up hills, through valleys, and into caves, through the chilly sunlight and occasional snowfall of the region. Tesson is the narrator, noting at first how difficult it is to hide his impatience and boredom with Munier's tactics.

The film itself is an act of patience, too. It sets up Munier's goal to find and capture images of the snow leopard, but there's a constant apprehension that the photographer might come away from his expedition without even discovering a sign of the animal. This is normal for Munier, who tells his companion how many times he has returned from a trip without achieving his goal.

Ultimately, that's not what really matters, because an expedition such as this one is never without its benefits. There are many other creatures and sights to behold, and the last time Muiner set out to photograph a snow leopard, it wasn't until he returned home that he realized he had unwittingly done so. In the background of a random photograph of a bird, there's the top of the cat's head, camouflaged almost perfectly with the rocks surrounding it.

One of the subtle and ingenious things about Amiguet's filmmaking is how the director uses wide shots to replicate the sensation of the search. If there's a feeling of potential disappointment beneath all of this, there's also one of anticipation in every new "blind" Munier establishes, as well as of eagerness in scanning the frame for some form, silhouette, or movement.

Mostly, though, there's a sensation of peace in the silences, the image of mist billowing out of a grunting antelope's mouth, and in watching how a different cat moves so quickly that it's almost as if the film is skipping frames. The Velvet Queen is beautiful, but more importantly, it mirrors the serene nature of its subject.

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