French

Journalist Bruno (Auteuil) is swithering between a wavering wife (Devos) and a much younger girlfriend (Sagnier), and politically undecided after the collapse of communism. Realising a break in routine is required, he answers a call for help from his uncle (Yanne), which takes him to the countryside near Grenoble. Charged with delivering a letter to the old man’s romantic rival, he’s soon deep into uncharted territory and a disorienting encounter with the volatile Béatrice (Scott Thomas). All this resolves itself into a narrative homily about needing to lose yourself in order to find your way again, but you get the feeling that Bonitzer (former Cahiers du Cinéma editor and frequent Rivette collaborator) is less interested in the destination than the uncertainties of the journey. Read More »

One could only enumerate the elements to let the film tell itself. And this is besides one possible purpose of Hanoun here. Just let things communicate between themselves without the coercition of usual continuums (space and time) and let’s see and feel what happens. Yet there are clues given, relations but they are separated when one could await a close editing and vice versa. There seems to have two worlds, cinematographic worlds I mean : B&W and colour and things circulate from one world to another, people too…

But let’s just enumerateRead More »

Synopsis:
Julien et son preneur de son, Michel, tournent à Bruges un documentaire de commande. Julien rêve au film qu’il pourrait tourner dans cette ville mystérieuse: une adaptation de Shakespeare ou de Musset. Le rejoint bientôt Sophie, sa femme, ancienne comédienne, qui souffre de la distance que Julien semble mettre dans leurs rapports. Bientôt, à une exposition de peinture, elle rencontre un artiste qu’elle voit sous les traits de Julien et qui l’invite à venir visiter Florence. Elle confie à Michel ses tourments. Julien, de son côté, vient d’accepter la proposition de son producteur: réaliser une “histoire” avec des “personnages” et, pourquoi pas, des “vedettes”… Alors qu’elle semblait décidée à suivre l’inconnu, Sophie se jette dans les bras de Julien. Le metteur en scène qui tourne un film intitulé “L’hiver” demande une nouvelle prise. Pour la seconde fois, Sophie se jette dans les bras de Julien. Le peintre inconnu s’en va…
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Giorgio (Marcello Mastroianni) lives on a island somewhere off the Mediterranean coast of France. He lives there with his dog, and the remains of an old German World War II airbase. He earns his living drawing cartoons. Liza (Deneuve) swims to the island from a rich man’s yacht, and the yacht’s crew confirm the end of her relationship with the owner by bringing her luggage to the island. She and Giorgio meet and become involved. She is jealous of his relationship with the dog and kills her rival while assuming its duties: wearing a collar, fetching sticks, etc.Read More »

France, 1830. Morbidly obsessed with the brevity of his existence, Raphaël throws himself into a life of excessive debauchery. It is a path that can only lead towards ignominious self-destruction… But then, one day, Raphaël meets Aurore, a young window, whose life and philosophy are the complete opposite of his. She lives a simple existence in the country, doing good works, virtuous in every word and deed. But their meeting awakens something in both of them. Aurore becomes aware of a longing she has never known, whilst Raphaël is assailed by emotions with which he is entirely unfamiliar…Read More »

Employed in a cabaret as a go-go girl, Dominique returns home after her shift when she is approached by a former lover, Jean-Louis. She invites him into her apartment where the man’s gaze is soon drawn to the circular bed in the bedroom. Dominique then points out to him that this bed is the subject of an incredible story: it has magical powers, stimulating the libido of the people who are there, making them relive the sexual prowess of its previous owners!Read More »

Synopsis
Thérèse de Marsanne (Odette Joyeux) kills her lover Pierre as he is an obstacle to her marriage with the wealthy Count of Vetheuil (Jacques Castelot). To get rid of the corpse, she obtains the assistance of Julien (Roger Blin) a poor young boy madly in love with her by promising him ” une nuit d’amour ” (a night of love, title of the film). After his sinister job done, Julien learns from Thérèse herself that he was part of a sordid crime and runs away terrorized, hence becoming the obvious culprit. Hunted down, he will eventually show at at Thérèse’s wedding to get arrested and accept his fate.Read More »

Quote:
Teetering on the one-dimensional, this romantic drama about the coming of age of a nineteen-year-old American woman in Paris is fairly straightforward. Ann (Jean Seberg) arrives in the city of light to visit her uncle, a doctor. But she soon finds herself taking care of a professional woman who is recovering from a suicide attempt and a broken heart. Ann slowly builds up a hatred for the man who drove her charge into such a desperate state but then begins to waver after contact with him. Aside from this association, she meets a different crowd than the one she knew back home in Nebraska, and changes in her attitude, dress, and hairstyle are the result. These alterations only lead her into trouble, as she starts an affair with the very man she had hated earlier. (Allmovie)Read More »

A rich widow, nostalgic for the lavish parties of her youth, embarks on a journey to reconnect with the many suitors who once courted her. In doing so, she sets off on a course of discovery, both of herself and of how greatly the world has changed in two decades. Julien Duvivier’s smash hit is a wry, visually inventive tale of romantic pragmatism that deftly combines comedy and drama.Read More »