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| French Cinema | ||
Presentation of these films is made possible by the generous support of the Embassy of France. |
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| French Classics | ||
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Le Silence de la mer | More... |
| Jean-Pierre Melville, France 1949, 35mm. G cert | ||
| Melville’s first film is one of the most disturbing and poetic films on the Occupation. A naïve, unpolitical German officer is billeted in the country with an old man and his niece, who maintain a disdainful silence in the soldier’s presence. “A root influence on Bresson and the whole French New Wave.” – Time Out | ||
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Casque d'or | More... |
| Jacques Becker, France 1952, 35mm. PG low level violence | ||
| Based on actual events, Becker’s tale of doomed love in the Belle Epoque underworld features Simone Signoret as a beautiful blonde cabaret enchantress who abandons her gangster beau for the love of an honest carpenter. “Becker’s masterpiece, one of the great movie romances.” – Village Voice | ||
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Le Plaisir | More... |
| Max Ophuls, France 1952, 35mm. R16 cert | ||
| With a dream cast of French stars – Jean Gabin, Danielle Darrieux, Simone Simon – Ophuls lavishly adapts three de Maupassant stories which sardonically explore the distinctions between pleasure and happiness. “Delicate, savage, essential – infinite Plaisir.” – Slant | ||
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| French Documentaries | ||
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Nenette | More... |
| Nicolas Philibert, France 2010, DV | ||
| Born in the jungles of Borneo, Nénette is a 40-year-old orangutan – and the oldest (and most beloved) inhabitant at the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Documentarian Philibert’s film is a captivating study of an enigmatic animal and our relationship to her. “Remarkable.” – Sight & Sound | ||
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Rachel | More... |
| Simone Bitton, France 2009, DV | ||
| This intelligent, layered documentary puts the Gaza Strip death of American peace activist Rachel Corrie in the context of a new generation of globalised activists crossing the world to put themselves in harm’s way. “Simone Bitton again proves that she is one of the finest contemporary documentarians.” – Screendaily | ||