France

  • Régis Wargnier – La femme de ma vie AKA The Woman of My Life (1986)

    Régis Wargnier1981-1990DramaFranceRomance

    Simon, a famous violinist, sinks into alcoholism. He finds support from his lover, who is also the manager of the orchestra in which he plays. But is she really helping him or is she exploiting his dependence on her? A man who has been through the same experience as Simon, offers to help him…Read More »

  • Jean Douchet, Jean Rouch, Jean-Daniel Pollet, Eric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol – Paris vu par… AKA Six in Paris (1965)

    Various1961-1970ArthouseFranceShort Film

    Synopsis: Six vignettes set in different sections of Paris, by six directors. St. Germain des Pres (Douchet), Gare du Nord (Rouch), Rue St. Denis (Pollet), and Montparnasse et Levallois (Godard) are stories of love, flirtation and prostitution; Place d’Etoile (Rohmer) concerns a haberdasher and his umbrella; and La Muette (Chabrol), a bourgeois family and earplugs.Read More »

  • Jacques Rivette – L’amour fou (1969)

    1961-1970ArthouseDramaFranceJacques Rivette

    Sébastien (Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Weekend) is staging an adaptation of Racine’s tragedy, Andromaque while a film crew captures their rehearsals on handheld 16mm. The production’s star and Sebastian’s wife, Claire (Bulle Ogier, Out 1), cannot take the pressure and removes herself. Life imitates art, creating a tragedy for the couple when Sébastien recasts the role with his ex. L’amour fou is a hypnotic study of tempestuous love, told with director Jacques Rivette’s signature reflexivity and containing striking examinations of performance, art, theatre and life. A classic of the French New Wave and one of Rivette’s most radical works, L’amour fou was unavailable for years, with the original elements tragically burned in a fire. Now meticulously restored, Radiance Films is proud to present this masterpiece from a new 4K restoration.Read More »

  • André Cayatte – Il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu AKA Where There’s Smoke (1973)

    André Cayatte1971-1980DramaFranceThriller
    Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu (1973)
    Il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu (1973)

    Synopsis
    Once again, Boussard is expected to win the coming mayoral elections with a handsome majority. One man who isn’t pleased by this prospect is Dr Peyrac, who is so disgusted by Boussard and his shady activities that he decides to run against him. For once, Boussard is anxious and sees the impeccable Dr Peyrac as a serious challenger, so he asks his secretary, Morlaix, to come to his aid. The latter discovers that Peyrac’s wife, Sylvie, is on friendly terms with Olga Leroy, a woman who is reputed to organise wild orgies for the well off. This is just the information Boussard needs to destroy his rival…Read More »

  • Jean Girault – Faites sauter la banque! AKA Let’s Rob the Bank (1964)

    Jean Girault1961-1970ComedyCrimeFrance
    Faites sauter la banque! (1964)
    Faites sauter la banque! (1964)

    Synopsis
    A modest shopkeeper, Victor Garnier, hands over his hard-earned savings to the director of the bank opposite his shop, to invest in shares in an oil company. A big mistake. When the shares become worthless, Garnier is determined to have his revenge and get back his money. With the help of his family, he plans to dig a tunnel from the cellar beneath his shop into the bank vault. Needless to say, nothing goes quite as planned…Read More »

  • Pierre Schoendoerffer – Le Crabe-Tambour AKA Drummer-Crab (1977)

    Pierre Schoendoerffer1971-1980DramaFranceWar
    Le Crabe Tambour (1977)
    Le Crabe Tambour (1977)

    Quote:
    A chance remark leads three French naval officers to reminisce, together and privately, about the compelling young commander Willsdorf, nicknamed The Drummer Crab, recalling his exploits from the fog-shrouded rivers of Indochina to an attempted military coup in Algeria to his lonely, anonymous vigil in the North Atlantic fishing lanes nearby. Joseph Conrad would have loved this film, arguably the finest modern seafaring adventure ever made: a thoughtful and thrilling study of man versus the elements, where the past itself becomes an elemental force even more unyielding than the vivid Winter seascapes captured by Raoul Coutard’s breathtaking cinematography. In metaphor, Willsdorf’s fate is the fate of French colonialism, and only by pursuing his memory, through crashing waves and hissing spindrift, can his three erstwhile companions (a dying captain, a middle-aged medical officer, and a robust, veteran Chief Engineer) confront and endure their collective loss. This is a spellbinding film, rich in history and detail.Read More »

  • Daniel Daërt – Chaleurs AKA S for Sex (1971)

    1971-1980Daniel DaërtDramaFrance
    Chaleurs (1971)
    Chaleurs (1971)

    Philippe, a photography enthusiast, is attracted to his young aunt so he makes a plan to get his uncle involved with their maid in order to get the chance to have sex with his aunt.Read More »

  • Marc Allégret – Sois belle et tais-toi AKA Be Beautiful But Shut Up (1958)

    Marc Allégret1951-1960ComedyCrimeFrance
    Sois belle et tais toi (1958)
    Sois belle et tais toi (1958)

    Quote:
    A beautiful 18-year-old orphan escapes from a reformatory and hooks up wth a gang of jewel smugglers, and decides on a life of crime. However, she falls for and marries a policeman, putting a crimp in her criminal career.Read More »

  • Pascal Aubier – Le Fils de Gascogne AKA The Son of Gascogne (1995)

    Pascal Aubier1991-2000ArthouseComedyFrance
    Le Fils de Gascogne (1995)
    Le Fils de Gascogne (1995)

    The Son of Gascogne (1995)
    October 9, 1995
    FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW;Maybe He’s The Son Of a Film Legend
    By STEPHEN HOLDEN
    Published: October 9, 1995

    There really isn’t much difference between a favorite screen image and a personal memory of youthful passion, except that one exists on film and the other only in our private mental movies. That insight lies at the heart of Pascal Aubier’s delicious comic bouillabaisse of a film, “The Son of Gascogne.” The film, which the New York Film Festival is showing tonight at 9 and tomorrow night at 6 at Alice Tully Hall, is a fable about an innocent young man who inherits a mystique that has everything to do with old movies and old loves and our eagerness to confuse the two.Read More »

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