Posted: Tue., 12-Oct-2004, 5:27pm PT
The Phantom Of The Operator
Le Fantome De L'operatrice
(Docu -- Canada)

An Artifact Prods. presentation. (International sales: Artifact Prods., Montreal.) Produced, directed, written by Caroline Martel.

Narrator: Pascale Montpetit
(French dialogue)

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By SCOTT FOUNDAS
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"The Phantom of the Operator" is an enormously imaginative docu by French-Canadian filmmaker Caroline Martel -- a found object of sorts that begins as a historical overview of female telephone operators, but gradually evolves into a wryly observed portrait of human society in the technocratic age. Composed entirely of footage skillfully edited from some 100 industrial, corporate and educational films produced by the Bell companies from 1910-89, pic provides an hour of nonstop visual and intellectual stimulation that should be welcomed by fests and cinematheques far and wide.

Having previously documented the 1999 mass layoff of women operators by Bell Canada in her 2001 National Film Board of Canada docu, "Hold the Line," Martel here focuses more on the rise of the profession in the first half of the 20th century.

Narrated by a ghostly, disembodied voice (Pascale Montpetit) meant to represent all women operators of the past, pic traces the increasing importance of telephone communication and how, at a time when phones lacked dials or numeric keypads, it was deemed important that users be greeted on the other end of the line by "a voice with a smile."

The conventional wisdom being, of course, that a pleasant, soothing female voice could smile more effectively than a male one. Not to mention the fact, as pic at one point wryly informs, that "women workers don't mind routine, repetitive work."

Delving into Bell's own extensive archive of self-produced films, Martel uncovers a treasure trove of operator-themed material both compelling and kitsch -- from recruitment movies touting the virtues of the profession in bombastic, newsreel fashion to so-called documentaries that depict the strenuous physical exams to which potential operator candidates must be subjected.

While pic is fascinating enough just as a time capsule, what gives it its unexpected weight is the way Martel sees her phantom protagonists as icons of the ever-diminishing role of human beings in the communication of information.

"How could we ever imagine that in designing the world as a network, we could inhabit that network as a world?" Martel's narrator asks in pic's final moments. Pic then sparks a provocative discussion over whether such things as email, text messaging and voice-recognition software truly bring us closer together or drive us further apart.

Adding to the ethereal feel cultivated by Montpetit's voiceover is original music by Suzanne Binet-Audet and Rene Lussier that makes extensive use of the theremin-like instrument known as the Ondes Martenot.

(Color/B&W); editor, Annie Jean; additional editor, Mathieu Bouchard; music, Suzanne Binet-Audet, Rene Lussier; sound, Clovis Gouaillier. Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival (Wavelengths), 12-Sep-2004. (Also in Vancouver Film Festival -- Canadian Images.) Running time: 65 MIN.

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