Nuit #1 (2011)

This account of a one-night stand and the subsequent night is very realistic portrayal that seemed very authentic, unlike other similar themed movies that inject a ton of comedy and humor. Made in France, it is relatable to people (especially young singles) from across the world. Clara, a teacher, and Nikolai meet at a club, then go back to Nikoai's flat to fuck. When Clara tries to leave unnoticed, Nik stops her and pulls her back to the apartment. I didn't like how pushy he was and its a bit disturbing. She goes back to the apartment and pretty much bares her soul to him, opening up about her innermost feelings of regret, shame, and despair. And they end up sleeping together on the roof, where Clara looks down at the street and we're unsure what she is going to do. The film was written and directed by a woman (Anne Émond), not a man, important to emphasize that the film is from a woman's perspective, so many films with characters like these are directed by a man.  

At the end of the film, we see Clara's students, but we're unsure if this takes place the next day, the next year, or prior to Nuit 1 (the first night). I liked how the film left me wondering about that. 

Small Change (1976) directed by François Truffaut

A friend of mine recommended this film to me earlier this summer, and I'm so glad I watched it because I really enjoyed it!

If you're not familiar, the film is a series of humorous vignettes starring unprofessional child actors (mostly boys under 13 or 14 years old) and each vignette is seen from their point of view. Critic Roger Ebert named it his #1 film of 1976.

I haven't seen all of Truffaut's films, and I'm not sure if any of his other films are quite like this one. It's so unique. And delightful. I read somewhere that Truffaut had been collecting humorous anecdotes about children for several years, and this was the culmination of his work.

An older blog post from the blog Moon in the Gutter calls the film "one of his finest works" (another post from the same blogger highlights some of the movie's advertising and promotional art -- in most countries outside the US it was called Pocket Money -- I love all of these stills and poster images - they really capture the feel of the movie in my opinion)

I love how the entire film is centered around the beginning of a school season. The school setting ties the movie together in my opinion, since it is essentially plot-less, even though the characters are all interconnected.

Some of the teachers have their own brief vignettes, but there is usually a child involved such the little mischievous two-year old who lives in the same apartment building as one of the teachers. He's a cute boy named Gregory and really made me smile and laugh.

Another character is a neglected boy from an abusive household; he wears the same clothes every day, and carries a worn and dirty satchel. I could relate to this character the most. I remember feeling like a misfit in my own school days, and befriended some, too.

The film also reminded me of feeling embarrassed, awkward, bored, and a little rebellious. In another vignette, two mates give another a questionable haircut. And in another, a young pair experience some romantic attraction for the first time. Almost all of the kids have a little bit of small change - pocket money - on them that they use in various ways.

One of my favorite scenes (though there are many) comes at the beginning of the film, where one child mails a postcard to her cousin. It's so rare nowadays seeing children communicate with each other without a cellphone, and kind of refreshing to see as well.

Recently I stumbled upon an interesting interview here with director Wes Anderson who talked about this movie with the New York Times in 2002; he's a big fan.

Not everyone likes this movie, though.

A recent blog post from The Seventh Art posted an excerpt from the book Luc Moullet’s Piges Choisies (2009) on Truffaut and this film. Moullet is critical of the film, calling it "a series of gems without any connection between them, a collection of interesting scenes that Truffaut couldn’t put in his previous films. It doesn’t work because Truffaut didn’t deploy his master weapon, narration. No principal story, no connecting thread. Like all failures, Small Change is negatively more revelatory of its auteur’s art than his perfect successes." I am not sure I agree; I didn't watch it comparing it with the other director's films.

It was filmed and takes place in Thiers, France. Though I have not been there, the movie reminded me of my trip to France. Some memories and photos are below, if interested.

It was June 2004 when I traveled with a friend on a 12-day trip. 6 days were spent Paris. Of course, one day was devoted to the Louve (though many more could have been). I loved seeing some of the paintings that I studied in school. On other days, we went inside the cathedrals of Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, and Saint Chappelle. We rode the Metro to almost everywhere. A photo of me at Notre Dame at right.

There were several Paris museums on my list, including a museum dedicated to medieval art (Cluny museum) and nearby was an ancient Roman area which is now a park. There were so many outdoor markets, and saw so many people carrying baguettes to take home. Also visited an American grocery store where there were food items to buy where you couldn't get anywhere else, such as certain brands of cereal.

Giverny

My friend and I wanted to see more of France, so we scheduled several trips trips out of Paris to fit our schedule. One trip was to the Versailles Palace and gardens which was very impressive. Then we took a train to Giverny to visit the home of Monet and to see his gardens that inspired his paintings. A photo at right.

The second trip was by train up north to Normandy, to visit a few WWII museums and to see the beaches and cemetery. It was the 60th Anniversary that year. We also visited Mont St. Michel, to visit the ancient cathedral and town. The third trip was by train down to Nice, where we visited a museum dedicated to Marc Chagall. We also took a train to Monte Carlo, where we mainly hiked around for the day.

We did not go to Thiers, France, where Small Change takes place. But we may have passed through it on the train to Southern France. Here are some more pictures of my Paris trip if interested. 

Movie showing at the time: Shrek 2

Outside the Louvre

Inside the Louvre

Eiffel Tower

I really loved visiting Paris and France, and hope to have a chance to visit again one day!

Thanks for reading! Be sure to visit The Lady Eve’s Reel Life and Silver Screen Modes as they host the Viva La France! Blogathon on August 25 and 26, 2019.  

Le Plaisir (1952) directed by Max Ophuls

Translated into English, "Le Plaisir" means "The Pleasure".

The film is a compilation of three short stories, and features a fine cast of French actors: Pierre Brasseur, Danielle Darrieux, Jean Servais, Simone Simon, and Jean Gabin.

According to the Criterion website, the film "pinpoints the cruel ironies and happy compromises of life with a charming and sophisticated breeziness."

Story 1: Le Masque (The Mask): Takes place in a dance hall. A rubber mask reveals an old man who loves to dance.

Story 2: Le Maison Tellier. (The Tellier House) A madame by the name of Tellier closes her brothel for the day and travels to the countryside with her workers for a Catholic mass. Meanwhile, a Jewish girl is touched by the serenity of the service.

Story 3:  Le Modele.(the model)  An artist meets Simon Simone in the Louvre and falls in love.

Fluid camerawork by cinematographers Philippe Agostini and Christian Matras.
Written by Guy de Maupassant. Directed by Max Ophuls.

The Well-Digger's Daughter (2012)

Pascal (Daniel Auteuil) and his six daughters

A charming period film, set in southern France during WWI.

A saintly young 18-year old woman (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) - the title character - has an affair with a wealthy pilot, just before he is called off to war.

When she has a baby out of wedlock, her widowed father - played by Daniel Auteuil who also directed -  is determined to keep his family's honor.

Wonderful performances by the entire cast, including Ms Bergès-Frisbey, who is perhaps best known as the mermaid in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  

Beautiful music, scenery, and costumes. Highly recommended.

Language: French / Color / 1 hour, 49 minutes / Available on DVD

Critic Roger Ebert gave the film a glowing review (read his review).

Jean Gabin in La Belle Equipe / The Good Crew (1936)

Set in Paris, La Belle Equipe (The Good Crew) begins with Jean Gabin and his unemployed friends living together in a poorhouse, dreaming of a better life for themselves. In an early scene, they're all in a pub playing one of those "mechanical claw" games where you have have to move the claw around to grab a prize. Desperate for a gift for a girl, they tilt the machine to "cheat" the game into spilling out a prize, which they do successfully several times in fact. I didn't realize those machines existed in the 1930s.

One day, in an amazing stroke of luck, five of the friends amazingly win a lottery. This is followed by an amusing celebration scene where all the other tenants in the building come flooding into their apartment for a wine party.  People of all ages - including little kids - crowd the flat!

Instead of parting ways with their winnings, they decide to invest the money together to start a restaurant. They purchase an old building in the country along the Marne river and turn it into a cozy, outdoor cafe with an indoor dance hall and live music. As the story progresses, the partnership breaks up for one reason or another (one friend dies, another moves, a woman gets in the way, etc). But the remaining friends continue to persevere.

By the end of the film, the restaurant has its grand opening. Happiness and joy fills the air as Jean Gabin realizes his dreams have come true. As the boss of his own place, he walks around to each table and asks each customer if they are having a good time. It's neat to see his character evolve through all the adversity.

The ending of the film is open ended, and we're not sure if any of the former members of the group will return to help with the emerging venture.

Directed by Julien Duvivier. Recommended.

Daddy Nostalgia (1990)

At the start of this heartwarming drama set in the French Riviera, Dirk Bogarde's character has just had a serious heart operation. His wife is worried about how he will fair after the surgery, and asks daughter Caroline (Jane Birkin) to come from Paris to help for awhile. In a private spat with her mother,  Caroline asks why she is always called upon instead of her sister whenever there is a family emergency. Her mother replies: "because she's in Quebec".

When Daddy comes home to recuperate, Caroline - a writer - ultimately grows closer to her father. And as the title suggests, this movie is very nostalgic, filled with flashbacks and memories of Caroline's childhood years and how she remembers her father.

It's an often-emotional film about an adult daughter and her ailing father, touching on issues dealing with life and death. It is a pleasure to watch Mr Bogarde perform in this, his final film. The film is dedicated to director Michael Powell, who passed away when the film was released.

This French-produced film is half in English and half in French; the actors - fluent in both - often switch from one language to the next. Available on DVD.

Sundays and Cybele (1962)

In French with English subtitles | Directed by Serge Bourguignon (1928 - )

Black-and-white | Available on DVD

Note: a few minor spoilers ahead. This is a very sad film. At the same time it is unforgettable. Hardy Krüger (1928 - ) plays Pierre, a veteran war pilot who suffers from amnesia after a plane crash. The opening scene is a flashback to this accident, where a young girl was killed. Pierre it appears has lost his zest for life, and doesn't get out much. His live-in girlfriend Madeline, a nurse, remains devoted to him even when he shows little affection. Madeline keeps hoping that he will get better soon.

One day he meets a young named Cybele, and orphan who lives in a Catholic boarding school in a Paris suburb. It's as if fate brought these two broken souls together (or is it fate?), and they are almost like soul mates (or are they?). Pierre poses as her father so he could take her out to the park on Sundays.

Cybelle is played by Patricia Gozzi (1950 - ) in a standout performance

Pierre becomes consumed with playing the role of an older familial figure, and this becomes his new purpose in life. Cybele also has a renewed sense of life and becomes attached to him as well, and even becomes restless when he misses a visit. One day she shares that she has romantic feelings about marrying him when she gets older, which really causes some emotional conflicts. One of the most interesting moments of the film comes when a group of young children ask Cybele to play with them in the park. We see her happiness shine as she's playing a game of tag with a group of boys and girls, perhaps for the first time in her life. It's a special moment in the film, almost a realization of what she has been missing in her life.

Pierre's character is a bit more complex. Is his new found role fulfilling him? Does he know how to handle it and his relationship with Madeline? Is Madeline more of a mother figure to him, someone he wants to avoid now? Pierre doesn't talk very much. We know that he's been wounded physically and emotionally, but we don't know to what extent. Nor do we know if he has had mental issues prior to the war. He doesn't mention Cybele to Madeline, but she finds out gradually over time, and when she does, the movie really gets interesting and more complicated.

Madeline is played by Nicole Courcel (1931 - )

This movie really captivated me from start to finish, and I was always wondering what would happen next.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1965) my favorite film musical

I love this film directed by Jacques Demy. I just love everything about it. The colors. Catherine Denuve. Beautiful music by Michel Legrand. There is no other movie like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

A review from the blog Confessions of a Film Philistine here

The Earrings of Madame de... (1953) directed by Max Ophuls

Director: Max Ophuls. Language: French. Based on the short novel by Louise de Vilmorin. Setting: Paris, late 19th Century.


Before the film began, our instructor started off with a brief lecture, informing us of the "circular structure" of the film, which I didn't understand until after seeing it. In the film, a pair of earrings passes through the hands of several owners, which makes for very amusing entertainment. The earrings were originally a wedding present from General Andre (Charles Boyer) to his vain wife Countess Louisa (Danielle Darrieux). After years of marriage, they both end up having affairs, and the earrings are passed along to other people: Louisa sells them to pay off her gambling debts, Boyer gives them to his mistress, and Louisa gets them again as a present from her lover, a diplomat (Vittorio di Sica).

Similar to Caught, this is a film about a woman who is caught between two men - one, her husband, and the other, her lover. It's also the story of a woman caught in a web of her own lies. From the very first scenes we realize she's a chronic deceiver. Boyer's character is not all that sympathetic either. Holding our interest throughout are the earrings, which take on more meaning throughout the film. By the end of the film Lousia has fetishized them to the point where they have overtaken her life.


---- The novel vs. the film version -----

I was curious about why this film was called "Madame de..." and why we are not told the last names of the characters. According to the synopsis from TCM Imports,

(Louise) Vilmorin (the author of the novel) left the characters unnamed, using the abbreviated Madame de and General de in a tribute to 19th century novelists who had used the same device to suggest their stories were based on real-life events. She did not give her story any clear setting in time or place, however, leaving the details to the reader's imagination. In his adaptation, Ophüls kept the naming, creating the suggestion that his characters could represent anybody from the story's milieu. He also fleshed out the other details. In particular, he set the story in Paris during the 1890s, a period with which he felt a strong personal connection. And as a tribute to the author, he gave his leading lady her first name, Louise.


---- The Famous Ballroom Dance Scene -----

In perhaps the greatest sequence in the film, di Sica and Louisa meet in a ball one night and they spend all night dancing. Reminiscent of Letter From An Unknown Woman, one of the band players anxious to go home observes, "Those two are always the last." An analysis of a part of this scene at the blog VCR-chaeology; read the post here.

Roger Ebert, in his review, wrote "On the dance floor, they observe it has been three weeks since they danced together....and then they are dancing still and no time has passed. The dialogue and costumes indicate the time transitions, but the music plays without interruption, as do their unbroken movements together...The economy of storytelling here--a courtship all told in a dance--resembles the famous montage in ''Citizen Kane'' where a marriage dissolves in a series of breakfasts."


---- Final thoughts -----

The camera work is once again incredible, and there are some interesting transitions. In one shot, Louisa tears up a letter, and throws the pieces out of a train window. The pieces fly through the sky and dissolve into snow in the next shot, set in winter.

The ending of the film leaves it open to further speculation, and in the class we had a good time discussing what might have happened next. A few people debated the outcome of a dual that was to happen at the end.



---- For more about this movie -----

Recommended, and available on DVD/Netflix. The Criterion DVD (which I have not checked out yet) has an audio commentary, interviews, analysis of the film, and a booklet. Further reviews of this film could be found at Criterion Confessions, Movie Ramblings, and The Molten Notebook.

Lola Montes (1955)

We can't have a post about Mel Gibson without one featuring another fallen star recently in the news - Lindsay Lohan. So, in honor of her first day in jail, let's take a look at a film that someone should have shown her a long time ago: Max Ophuls' full-color epic Lola Montes, about the 19th century exotic dancer who died at the age of 39. (And it's no small coincidence that their stage names - Lilo and Lola - sound so similar)

I might add that I'm not the only blogger who feels this film can serve as a cautionary tale to modern starlets - in his review of the movie, Michael of I Shoot the Pictures urged Britney Spears and others to take heed.

---

French actress Martine Carol plays the fiery Lola, who counted the King of Bavaria and Franz Liszt among her many lovers. These relationships are dealt with in short flashback scenes. Another one of her lovers is played by Oskar Werner in the film, and he's rather enjoyable to watch.

The film starts and ends in a circus tent, where Lola is presented as a freak on display, and eventually ends up in a cage. The Ringmaster is played with great bravado by Peter Ustinov; it's a very interesting role, like that of a Weimar cabaret emcee. He speaks to Lola in both French and English, her native tongue.

The odd part of this is that the real Lola never performed in a "real" circus (with clowns and acrobats and such). But these scenes are all symbolic; it's Ophuls' commentary on the circus of show business, particularly Hollywood, as our instructor said, combined with desire.

Martine Carol's Lola is rather wooden, I felt, though some in the class liked how the character was written and presented. Our instructor said that she is a prisoner of her own image, and throughout the film she feels so trapped, so stiff. Almost like a study of this woman's powerlessness.

Our instructor said that Ophuls doesn't want the audience to get beyond the edifice of this character. But I was yearning to know more about Lola. Ophuls doesn't give that glimpse inside.

This is probably my least favorite film of all the Ophuls films I've seen so far. But it's worth seeing. It's also Ophuls' last film. He originally didn't want to do it, but after he was approached by the producers with the idea, he decided to do it if he could write the original screenplay.

Visually, it's spectacular, and very colorful, which is new to an Ophuls film. But so many elements of his films are here: long takes, some lasting up to 2 minutes, lots of interesting framing when the camera is looking through windows, and numerous scenes of characters ascending or descending staircases.

When the film opened in Europe, it was a epic failure with the public. One person in our class wondered if it's failure had to do with it being in CinemaScope; perhaps these epic films appeared too crass. Also, people may have been turned off if they were expecting something more narrative instead of metaphoric.

In Dave's superb essay on his blog Criterion Reflections, he notes that audiences may have been expecting something a bit more risque, based on what the posters seemed to promise. Yet Ophuls doesn't even show Lola dancing in the film.

The stylized sequences in the circus are often quite lavish, and they undoubtedly served as some kind of inspiration for the 2001 Nicole Kidman film Moulin Rougue!, which I thought of while watching this. There are even some menacing-looking henchman who assist the Ringmaster, adding to the creepiness - this darkness may have been a turnoff to audiences of the time as well.

Another student in the class said this film reminded him of The Blue Angel, where there's also a character named Lola and the idea the theme of people selling their souls.

Last winter Michael wrote a great essay on his blog about this film, and points out how the film was recently restored (in 2008) to better represent Ophuls' original cut. It's this version that we watched in the class (it's also the version on the Criterion DVD)

--------------

Recommended blog posts about the film Lola Montes (1955)

Michael's review: I Shoot the Pictures (May 2009)
Dave's essay: Criterion Reflections (Jul. 2010)
Michael's essay: The Evening Class (Feb. 2010)

Max Ophuls

This week I had my first class in a 6-week film appreciation series devoted to the films of Max Ophuls, who is regarded as one of the great auteur directors of French cinema.

The films in the summer series are :

June 16: Liebelei (1932)
June 23: Letter from An Unknown Woman (1948)
June 30: Caught (1949)
July 7: Le Plaisir (1952)
July 14: The Earrings of Madame de... (1953)
July 21: Lola Montès (1955)

Our instructor is of the opinion that Ophuls fits the definition of "auteur" much more than the films of Jean-Luc Godard or François Truffaut, also regarded as auteurs.

His films are known for two distinctive styles: 1. Mobile framing / mobile cameras and dolly shots, and 2. Long takes, shots that endure for a long time.

He was born Maximillian Oppenheimer in 1902 in Germany on the border of France, and he grew up speaking both languages fluently. He pursued a career in acting at a relatively young age, and took the stage name of Max Ophuls once he started work in the theater. He either appeared in or directed hundreds of plays over time, and in the late 1920s even pursued films; he went to Berlin's UFA studio to work as assistant, and then made some attempts at his own films.

His first film attempt was a 40 minute comedy called "Dann schon lieber Lebertran" (1931) which translates in English as "I'd Rather Have Cod Liver Oil". Ophuls wasn't happy with the film, and never attempted such a comedy again.

He made Liebelei in 1932, which was based on a somewhat dark play by Arthur Schnitzler about relationships, affairs, and tragedy. Our instructor said that in English, the word "Liebelei" translates into "Games of Love". She said that the Viennese people are fascinated with issues of love and death, and that this would be something audiences would be able to relate to very well in this era of Freud. There's all sorts of situations the main characters find themselves in, love triangles and the like, and it's an impressive film from a new director. Even though Ophuls' background was in theater, this isn't a "theatrical looking" film. But the print we watched was very bad. It was also a poorly recorded VHS tape copy. The white subtitles were often cut off on the left side and very hard to read whenever there was something white in the foreground. I will have to watch the movie again another time, perhaps if its ever restored. Our instructor said this movie is the only German film that is avialable of his.

A Jew, Ophuls had to flee Germany not long after this was made. He moved to France, but he wasn't safe from the Nazis there either.

In the United States, he wanted to do more films, and befriended Preston Sturges, who helped him along the way. In 1946 he was slated to direct a film Vendetta, but was fired for reasons I don't know about exactly yet. He tried again and directed The Exile produced and starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. In his next film he directed Joan Fontaine in Letter from An Unknown Woman, which is arguably his most famous work. He made 4 films in the US before moving back to France, where he directed some wonderful movies such as Le Plaisir, which I haven't seen yet but is part of the film series. Ophuls himself was the set designer on the picture, and he was nominated for an Oscar in the US.

On the sets, he drank Schnopps with his lunches every day, he was just that kind of guy. Peter Lorre was a good friend of his. People who worked with him loved working with him, including James Mason who even wrote a poem about him.

He died in 1957 of heart disease and was buried in Paris.

---

This is the official description of the film series from the website and print ads:

"The camera exists to create a new art and to show above all what cannot be seen elsewhere: neither in theater nor in life. Otherwise, I'd have no need of it; doing photography doesn't interest me. That, I leave to the photographer." (Max Ophüls)

Long praised as a consummate auteur, Max Ophüls commanded control over all aspects of his films, including cinematography and post-production work. His style, exhibiting a commitment to grace, beauty, and sensitivity, celebrates what the camera is able to create. Choreographing the extreme feelings involved in human relationships with an endlessly mobile camera and long takes, Ophüls explores dimensions of time, movement, and fate. The compositions in his films overflow into what film theorist Laura Mulvey calls "ecstatic and extended moments," into which he often incorporates strong visual irony. Ophüls, German-Jewish by birth, was truly an international director. At Ufa in Berlin, he made his first films, among them Liebelei (1932). In 1941, after failed attempts to stay in Europe during Hitler's regime, directing films in Holland, Italy, and France, Ophüls finally moved to the United States as one of the last exiled directors to arrive. Among his American films are Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), starring Louis Jourdan and Joan Fontaine, and Caught (1949), with Barbara Bel Geddes and James Mason. Upon returning to Europe and settling in Paris in 1950, Ophüls made the films that form the high point of his career, including his last, Lola Montüs (1955), his only film in color. In this class, we will experience the pleasure of being able to watch most of Ophüls' French films, which disappeared from public view, but recently have been re-released.

Therese Grisham has a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Seattle and was awarded a Fulbright lectureship to the University of Dresden, following which she won a teaching award in film studies. She now teaches film aesthetics and history at Columbia College Chicago and film analysis and media and culture at DePaul University. She has previously taught courses at the Facets Film School, including Watch the Skies! Science Fiction, The 1950's and Us, Through a Technicolor Mirror: The Films of Douglas Sirk and Julien Duvivier: Master of Versatility.