Faces of November

Faces of November is an experimental, poignant and concise documentary short by acclaimed filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker. This 1964 gem in documentary filmmaking doesn't involve traditional stars in the Hollywood sense but features real-life figures such as President Lyndon B. Johnson, John Kennedy Jr., and Caroline Kennedy. Clocking in at just over 12 minutes, the documentary is a wordless, immersive perspective on the national mourning that followed the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

The film opens with a solemn atmosphere that paints vivid scenes of a nation plunged into sorrow. Despite the lack of dialogue or commentary, the images themselves tell a heart-wrenching story. The significance and importance of the events unfolding have been encapsulated with stoic grace, capturing the collective spirit of a country in mourning.

The choice of featuring Lyndon B. Johnson, who had to step into the considerable shoes of JFK following his tragic death, allows viewers the rare glimpse into the burdens faced by a successor in times of national distress. The camera lingers on Johnson, his solemnity humanizing him and the scale of his newfound responsibilities all the more palpable.

The Kennedy children, John and Caroline, are also often centered in the frames. John Kennedy Jr., barely a toddler, seems blissfully unaware of the full weight of the proceedings, while Caroline Kennedy, just a few years older, echoes more vulnerability. Their innocent embodiments of grief provide one of the movie's most moving aspects.

Pennebaker, famous for his unique observational style of documentary filmmaking, solidifies his crafted art through Faces of November. He lets the scenes unfold as they are, letting the raw emotions of grief, shock, and sorrow simmer and take over the film. Each shot carefully captures the agonizing hours of waiting, focusing not only on important figures but also on anonymous faces in the crowd, the seas of mourners that lined up to say a final good-bye to their fallen leader.

The title Faces of November is both literal and metaphoric. It is literal as the film repeatedly focuses on the faces of common Americans – consternation, despair, disbelief clearly etched on them – reflecting the unifying sorrow of a tragic November. Conversely, the title becomes metaphorical as 'November' becomes synonymous with the loss of a leader and a transformative moment in American history, forever changing the 'face' of the nation.

The choice to depict such a historic moment without a need for narration or dialogue is a testament to Pennebaker's intuitive and innovative approach to filmmaking. The sights and sounds, the heavy silence and whispered prayers, the shifting expressions on everyone's faces, are all the 'dialogue' one needs to comprehend the gravity of the situation.

The film also spends an extended time on the unfamiliar as it does the familiar. The countless anonymous people who took to the streets, holding vigil over the lost president, present a poignant representation of the collective shock and grief. The persistence with which the people withheld the cold November winds as they waited to pay their last respects provides a quieter, but immensely more powerful, understanding of the national sentiment at that time.

In the end, Faces of November does more than just document the immediate impact of John F. Kennedy’s assassination; it explores the universality of grief, the impact of leadership, and the resilience of a nation grappling with the loss of its leader. It's a compelling piece of cinematic observance vital to understanding and feeling the profound reverberations of a moment in American history that shook the world. Though clocking in at a mere 12 minutes, Faces of November carries the depth and emotional gravity of any full-length feature film, condensing an impactful piece of history into memorable fragments of time.