Journeys Through French Cinema
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My Journey Through French Cinema (2017), Bertrand Tavernier’s César-nominated three-and-a-half-hour tour through French film history, was too short to introduce audiences to all that he wanted to share. In this new eight-part series (8x55min), the acclaimed director of such films as Coup de Torchon and ‘Round Midnight guides us through a roster of filmmakers both influential and forgotten, explores how his country’s cinema was shaped by the German occupation and changed again through the New Wave, spotlights little-known female filmmakers, and more. Subjects include: René Clément, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Julien Duvivier, Henri Decoin, Claude Autant-Lara, as well as composers who made movie music an art in and of itself, far from the Hollywood spotlight.
Tavernier dissects the importance of music in French Cinema with palpable enthusiasm, highlighting French actors who came from music hall backgrounds (Jean Gabin, Magali Noël, and Jean Gabin, among others), and the oft-overlooked contributions of directors to the process of songwriting itself. Surveying the work of René Clair, Sacha Guitry, Jean Boyer and more, Tavernier treats us to a feast of joyous clips from beloved classics like Agnès Varda’s CLEO FROM 5 TO 7, Louis Malle’s VIVA MARIA!, and Jacques Demy’s THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROQUEFORT, before honing in to focus on prolific director Julien Duvivier, whom he admires for his austere formal rigor, technical precision, contributions to songwriting, and creative use of sound.
